Guarded
by whenthewallscomecrashingdown
Summary: It was the same pattern: redhead girl found, strangled, with her hair cut off. They called him the Haircut Killer. And everything was fine and dandy until he started targeting me.
1. The Beginning

I've seen this one before, the girl she gets away  
>Everybody knows it but no one tries to stop it<br>Cause she barely even knows him but if she could see inside  
>Everything is quiet as she waits to tell him who she is<p>

Absolute—The Fray

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><p><em>That bastard is going to pay.<em>

_He is going to pay for taunting and torturing him. He is going to pay for the pain he caused and the time he had lost. He is going to pay in the worst way possible—only what would cause him so much pain that he would no longer wish to live? What would make him feel the kind of pain he had felt? _

_The wife, he thought at first. I'll get to him through the wife. But then, he had done his research. The wife was too difficult, she had, after all, survived the wrath of the Dark Lord himself. The son was safely protected behind the spells and incantations of Hogwarts, untouchable. The daughter, it must be then._

_A lucky strike, he thought, women are his specialty. There's nothing like the scent of a woman, the softness of her body as she molds into him, her shrieks at his touch, her response to him. Yes, women are his favourite._

_Some liked to kill with a wand. They are the lazy ones, he thinks. He liked to kill with his own bare hands. He liked to put his hands around their soft, pale necks and feel the blood pulse as he slowly drained the life from their bodies. He liked to feel their kicks of restraint, watch their eyes for the feeling of hopelessness they got when they finally realised they could no longer breathe, that there would be no chance for an escape._

_It is such a beautiful moment. That's when they looked the most beautiful, when they resign themselves to the fate in his hands. When they finally stop struggling and gasp for their last breath. When his feeling of power and domination was at its highest, that is his favourite moment._

_So, the daughter. She would be the one._

_It wouldn't be difficult. They probably wouldn't even see him coming. They hadn't caught him the other times—he was too stealthy, too clean to get caught. The only witnesses to his crimes were dead. He had been caught once, though, of course, a careless mistake made by a rookie, but he was smarter now._

_He wouldn't get caught for the more dangerous crimes he had committed. Petty theft had been the end of him just a year and a half ago and yet he had the power to escape. He got away, and he thrived in the world. _

_Maybe he would do a few more, just for practice. She should be his best yet, he should make no mistakes with her._

_Rose, what a pretty name for a pretty woman. His little flower. And white roses are the symbol of purity. Surely she would be pure with such a protective father. The thought made him twitch in excitement. Of course, she would be pure, untarnished. He felt a swelling of want in his abdomen. And she would be his. All his._

* * *

><p>I made my way into my office without dropping anything, something that was quite a miracle to begin with. My briefcase was overflowing with rolls of parchment, my tea cup was teetering dangerously in my hand, and the quill in my mouth was threatening to drop straight into my teacup.<p>

Monday mornings are always the worst. The relaxed feeling that I get from the weekend totally evaporates and the pile of parchment on my desk seems entirely too daunting.

"Weasley! Why is it that I currently do not have an intern?" Carlos Masen screamed at me, throwing the door open to my office.

There goes any hope for a peaceful Monday morning.

Carlos is very good at what he does (Communications for the Department International of Magic Cooperation) he speaks several languages fluently and can swear sufficiently in all of them, he seems to have a knack for charming all the women too, and apparently he once made the South African Ambassador laugh so hard pumpkin juice came out of his nose. And he's also_ very_ attractive. Blond hair, green eyes, toned abs, the whole package. He just happens to know that.

"Probably because you fired the last one." I quipped, setting my briefcase down and ignoring the fact that Masen couldn't even wait for me to be settled before barging in and yelling at me for something that is totally out of my control.

"That's because that idiot had no idea what he was doing! Why do you give me all the idiot men who don't know what they're doing? I told you that I prefer girl interns!"

I sighed heavily and rub my temple at his loud screams. Carlos has yet to grasp the concept of speaking in low volumes.

"Well, the last girl intern you had filed a sexual harassment complaint and quit, so Nott told me to stick the males with you."

"Well that's…that's…." Carlos spluttered his face flushing as he tries to figure out just what his predicament is.

"Completely justified, Masen." My boss, Theodore Nott, walked up just in time to hear Carlos's complaints.

Nott is a very fair boss, for which I'm very grateful. I know that fair bosses are really hard to come by, but Nott seems to have a natural born kind of justice sense. No one ever even dares to cross him, not because we're scared of him but because we respect him and his opinions. He's just one of those people who screams 'voice of reason' and in all circumstances of dispute, we turn to him to lead us. There's no one else I would rather work under.

"But…sir!"

"No buts, Masen. We'll get you a new intern in due time. For now you'll have to fetch your own tea." Nott says in an end-of-discussion tone.

"Yes, sir." Carlos ducked his head, glaring at me for only Merlin knows why as he exits my office.

Finally. I took a sip of tea and tried to decompress from the stressful morning. I had only been in the office for half an hour and already I wished it was Sunday again so I could go back to my reading and peaceful Sunday morning.

"Oh and Weasley?" Nott said, catching my attention again. "Good job on the proposal for the International Peace Talks. I daresay it will catch the attention of some countries!" He smiled kindly at me.

"Thank you sir!" I practically beamed at him.

I worked really hard on that proposal. I'm thrilled. Perhaps I'll be able to finally start working on my own instead of editing everybody else's propositions and letters. That's what I do now, as undersecretary to the undersecretary (the official term is junior undersecretary) to the Head of the Department of International Magic Cooperation.

Nott left my office in the same way he came, quietly and I turned back to the multitude of letters on my desk, grabbing my pot of red ink and beginning to settle in for a day of editing. I love my job. It took me a really long time to get here. To begin with, I took a gap year, travelling around Europe and doing fun things and meeting interesting people.

Then I had bumbled around, sometimes helping my mum out, sometimes helping my dad out, sometimes working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and eventually landed myself as the secretary under the Marketing Director of the Department of International Magic Cooperation. It seemed to be a lucky thing—a coincidence of fate that I should already be so interested in foreign countries and then I found myself working for the Ministry with the possibility of having a job that would entail doing almost exactly what I did during my gap year.

And now at the ripe old age of twenty four and I can finally say that I have found my passion. It just took a lot longer than my sixteen year old self had thought.

Dad and Mum had been thrilled when I finally told them I found this job. I don't know what they thought was going to become of me but I don't think they had envisioned this.

I had just organised my desk and felt ready to take on the day when my door burst open again, much to my chagrin.

"Weasley, your boyfriend's stupid arse owl missed your desk again." Carlos said bitterly as he threw a bouquet of flowers on my desk.

The flowers are beautiful: orange and pink daisies, one of my favorite flowers. I lifted them to my nose and inhaled the beautiful smell. I saw the note from Wes and sighed lightly, he's a keeper, that one.

**Hello Love,**

**Happy three month anniversary!**

**I'll pick you up at your flat tonight at 7. Be ready and wear something the nice.**

**Love, **

**Wes**

I giggled and smelled the flowers again.

Wes, my boyfriend of three months, does these romantic gestures that make me feel like a princess or something just a deserving. He's got this knack for being romantic, something that my past boyfriends have all sadly lacked. None of them would have ever, ever, in a million years remembered our three month anniversary, let alone take me out to someplace nice for it. But this is just one of the reasons that I like Wes. He's kind and has a good memory like that. He makes me feel like I'm not the only one in the relationship.

My parents are a bit cautious though, because he's thirty, almost six years older than me. But trust me when I say that no other twenty four year old is looking to settle down. All the boys are just looking for a good time, and personally I'm glad that I've found someone who finally looks like husband material. Or, at least he could be.

I fingered the petals on the daises, admiring the bright colours as I contemplate for just a few minutes longer the difference between Wes and all the other boys. Despite my family's reservations I can't help but think that this could go long-term. Unless of course, something drastic were to happen that would change that, but nothing like that can even come to mind right now.

I pushed back from the desk and hurried over to my briefcase near the wastebasket and dug around in there for my planner to write down the date, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I started to panic and dragged the briefcase to my desk, emptying all of the contents out on the table, but still not finding it anywhere.

Had I left it at home?

I went through my morning routine and I was certain that I had put it in there…but perhaps I hadn't. Maybe it was somewhere else.

I promised myself that I would look again at home, but resign myself to writing a To Do List here, on a spare piece of parchment because writing things down always helps me remember them better.

**To Do**

**-Edit Joana's proposition for the new Universal Dialogue for Teen Witches and Wizards Conference**

**- Assign new intern to Masen because he fired the other one**

**-Make sure that we have butterballs for the Ecuadorian Prime Minister who is coming into town on Thursday**

**-Date with Wes tonight at 7.**

**-Look for planner**

I sighed and sat back down to my desk and settled in for a long day of editing.

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><p><em>He watched her from a safe place, enjoying the look of panic on her face as she searched for the little black notebook he had in his hands. He felt the thrill of the chase fill him and the excitement rushed through his veins like alcohol through an alcoholics'.<em>

_Surely he would have to practice on others before it was her turn. She deserved only the best. With her beauty and her fire, she would present a challenge. But he like challenges, they made his heart beat faster in anticipation. _

_But for now he would just wait. He would watch her and learn about her and take his fill of her. _

_He would torture her like her father had tortured him._

_And her father would pay dearly, like he had paid every day that he was behind bars._

_And she would be his. All his._

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><p><strong>AN: All right, so, this story has undergone some editing as anyone who has read this story before will soon see (I hope). Actually, it has totally changed completely. So here's hoping you all think that the change is for the better (though I certainly do!). Anyway, this story will be undergoing major editing and then continue to be published on a fairly regular basis within the next five months or so, hopefully being finished soon (hopefully by May of 2012, if not sooner than that!). **

**So, please let me know your thoughts. I'm very excited because this is a different style than I've written before and it's always great to hear feedback and constructive criticism.**

**Let me know what you think (please),**

**~wwccd  
><strong>


	2. The Walk

And do you wanna, do you wanna?  
>Do you wanna make love to me?<br>I know you wanna, I know you wanna  
>I know you wanna make love to me<p>

Do You Wanna—The Kooks

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><p>It looked like a moon straight out of a horror story. It was full, bright and white, a stark contrast to the gloomy clouds that surrounded it, sometimes covering its dim light, other times just lightly caressing its picturesque brilliance. I was walking alone, moonlit puddles and thinking to myself about the past day's events. It had been enough to really make me wonder.<p>

The day had begun with editing, editing, and some more editing. My friend Tori was at a seminar in Munich for her Department Head, so I was unfortunately unable to see her before my date and get her advice on fashion and such. Tori worked in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and was often sent to the long, boring, seminars that refreshed the more seasoned officers on the guidelines for handling tricky cases in lieu of the actual seasoned officers going. Well, someone had to go for them, why not make it the lowly interns?

So without Tori's amusing presence throughout the morning, nothing was out of the ordinary until we all heard a yell from the middle of the office.

"Silence!"

The whole office stood at a standstill, watching as Joana Kingsbury paced, moving back and forth between the cubicles frantically searching for something only she seemed to know about. Never before had the office seemed so quiet, one could hear a pin drop. The Ecuadorian Ambassador was on his way up with the Prime Minister. The butterballs were on a tray, waiting to be eaten, the smiley welcoming team was in the corner, exchanging worried glances. After all, there was only so much they could do. They could be nice and inviting, but if the whole department looked as if it were off it's rocker, well…it's possible the Ecuadorian Prime Minister might never come back and cease and desist all peace talks.

I stood in a corner watching the undersecretary having a complete mental breakdown. Joana is a nice person, not generally so stressed and emotional. I could have sworn that I saw the threat of tears in her eyes, but perhaps I was seeing things. Joana had just gotten back last night from her honeymoon. Her husband Eduardo was the Ambassador from Spain and they met through the office. They had vacationed in the south of France and up until now I thought that she looked nice and relaxed…I had wished for a vacation of my own.

And then we realised that Joanna's planner was missing.

Hers was similar to mine, black and almost the exact same size, but her planner had everything in it. Every meeting, every possibility of a meeting, timetables for the new year, pale sketches of plans that were going to happen throughout the next few months, everything. If that book went missing…lives could be in danger, visits could go awry, and the whole Department of International Magic Cooperation could be blamed for the severity of the events that resulted in the loss of that planner.

That planner could not be lost. But it was.

She had searched throughout her entire desk, and then I had gone through it, just in case she missed it. Even Carlos Masen, notoriously self-absorbed and lazy had sifted through the desk, dodging feminine toiletries in disgust, but to no avail.

I had misplaced my planner yesterday, but it had turned up mysteriously inside the wastebasket next to my desk. So, of course, I checked the wastebasket next to Joana's but it wasn't there. The whole office kept exchanging uneasy glances with each other; if Nott caught wind of the missing planner…it wouldn't be good for anyone involved. Unfortunately, since Joana was so proficient, she knew and worked with virtually everyone in the Department and everyone would be at risk of a potential firing if the planner wasn't found.

We still hadn't managed to find it by the time the Ecuadorian Ambassador made his way up, and we all probably looked like people who belonged in an insane asylum as we pretended to be fine whilst everything was silently going to hell.

Only by the grace of good fortune had I decided to copy most of the events and deadlines from Joana's planner to mine and then also to Margot's (the new intern who was in charge of practically every menial task known to man). I had done it whilst Joana was on her honeymoon and only remembered it after a good three hours of searching.

There were still a few things missing, but Joana had a pretty good memory and we managed to round up practically everything that was due and figure out the missing pieces to the best of our abilities. Nott didn't seem to notice anything amiss either, so we quietly bid our time and sent Margot out to buy a replacement planner.

I had worked through lunch, knowing that with the date I had later that day, I would definitely need to save some room in my stomach. I'm more of a grazer than a sit-down-and-eat-it-all-at-once type of person, but Wes is the exact opposite so most of the time when we go out on our dates we have three or four course meals—which is not only a ridiculous amount of food, but also kind of expensive.

However, when I got home I got a serious case of the nappies; the well known phenomenon of when you get home and see your bed and all you can think is "Merlin, I just want to take a nap right now." I had even considered canceling the date, but since it was our three month anniversary and all, I knew that I couldn't do it. Maybe another night, but certainly not this one.

The date was perfect. The restaurant was romantic, read: candlelit, beautiful patio out deck overlooking London, pretty flowers in the windowsills, wine glasses on every table, a perfect romantic getaway spot for our three month anniversary. Wes had picked a perfect place.

"Hello, love." He had greeted me.

He stood up from the table he had reserved for us and greeted me quickly with a kiss on the cheek. He looked incredibly handsome, dressed to the nines, in a dark, black cloak, his matching black dragon leather gloves sitting on the table. His dark handsome features were enhanced by the candlelight, the ivy on the building adding tremendously to the beautiful romantic moment.

My brother had often made fun of the light scruff that he kept on his face, but I found it alluring. It wasn't rough, like he hadn't shaved for a couple of days, but soft and sparsely spread across his face and upper lip. His dark hair was swept to the side, and I was glad he had combed it, unlike the usual days when he just let it be.

"Hello." I had replied, naturally. "How was your day?"

Wes works for the Ministry too, but he does the numbers. By which I mean, he keeps track of all the financial comings and goings of the whole entire Ministry of Magic. It's quite a job, or so I understand. He has many people working under him, going over the numbers for each individual Department and finalising all the final costs and such. I'm told that he spends most of his day conversing with the Heads of the Departments in terms of budgeting and the sort after seeing the final figures. It seems to be a quite an important job, I know because I've talked with Melvin, the accountant in charge of my department and also the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Our date had continued satisfactorily. I was right in skipping my lunch, too, because we ate a four course meal. Salads, appetizers, main course, desserts. Wes had even called in earlier and made sure that a customized dessert was made for me: my favourite, strawberry cheesecake. I love strawberry cheesecake and I can't believe he remembered that specific detail.

We talked about our days, he complained about the crazy amount of work he had to do and I complained about editing and excitedly told him all about how Nott had complimented me earlier this morning. He gave a toast in my favour and looked at me like he was just so proud, which made my stomach flutter.

And when he dropped me at my front door and kissed me so passionately, I thought tonight would be _the _night. It's been three months already and we haven't exactly…consummated our relationship. I've only told Tori and Lily about this, for obvious reasons but I can't help but worry about it. Everything else in our relationship is going perfectly. I've met his friends, he's met a few of mine, we're taking things easy and not spending copious amounts of time together or anything, but shouldn't we be a little more physical by now?

Tori's convinced that he's mutated down there or something.

"He's trying to make you fall for him before he whips out his three balls!" She said.

She has a tendency to be repulsive and grossly honest about everything.

Lily is convinced of the opposite. She thinks that Wes is trying to be Prince Charming and romantic. She believes that since he's older and has probably had more relationships in his life than I've had in the past few years, he knows more about when to bring the physical aspect into the relationship than I do. She might have a point, but we hardly ever even have a snog session. I might understand if he was, I don't know, trying to resist my charms in a gentlemanly fashion, but there are some times that I think he doesn't even care if we ever have sex or not. It's frustrating.

So I thought tonight was going to be _the _night; but sadly it wasn't. He dropped be at my doorstep, gave me a toe curling kiss and then bid me goodnight and said that he had a few more things to work on before going to bed. And that was it. Surely our three month anniversary was romantic?

Regardless, he left and I was suddenly consumed by a burst of energy that led me to this nighttime walk. It seems like everything in my life always happens at once. Just a mere three months ago, the highlight of my life was reading a book on a Friday night. Now, I'm having a three month anniversary, getting complimented by my boss, and trying to keep my job my keeping track of little black planners.

I noticed the weather growing cold and shivered, pulling my cloak tighter around me and rubbing my arms together to create a little warmth. I know walking alone is not a good thing—not ever. I have enough auror family members that this has been engrained into my brain since birth. And yet, here I am, taking the risk. I hadn't planned on walking so far—not when I started. I planned on walking to cool myself down—I was so emotionally hyped up that I knew I had to exercise before I spontaneously combusted my energy. But now the streets of my neighborhood are getting less and less familiar and I'm beginning to think that I should turn around when I saw a dark figure in the distance.

It came closer and closer until suddenly, he was standing right in front of me.

"Weasley?"

"Malfoy?"

The dark figure was Scorpius Malfoy. I had gone to Hogwarts with Scorpius Malfoy and we had gotten on quite famously when we roamed the halls together. The first few years all we did was fight, that is, until our hormones got the best of us and we decided to use our anger in a much more…productive manner that quite possibly might have occurred multiple times throughout our teenage years and possibly even as recently as a year or two ago.

We hadn't seen each other in a few months, not since my cousin Albus's 25th birthday party where I had seen him with a pretty blond on his arm and a satisfied smirk on his face.

"How was your date?" He asked.

I studied him inquisitively.

"How did you know about my date?" I asked.

He just smirked at me.

"Faded makeup, date clothing, looking distraught and frustrated. Not a good date then?" He queried.

The most frustrating thing about Wes may be that he doesn't put out, but certainly the most frustrating thing about Scorpius Malfoy is his uncanny ability to notice _everything_. He's been doing it since we were younger. We used to play a game where I would point out one person in our vicinity and he would tell me everything he could observe about them. Single mothers, orphaned children, sexually frustrated divorced men, the characters in his world were limitless both emotionally and physically, the stories that he wound for them intricately worded and entirely possible. With just a scuff on a shoe, he could tell you their life story.

I wasn't surprised at all when he applied to become an auror after he finished school. It was just up his ally—interacting with people and criminals, solving mysteries and getting a unique insight into the human psyche all at the same time. The word auror practically encompassed every passion he had.

"None of your business."

His playful tone was soon discarded as he looked around the street, his head haloed by the moonlight.

"Walking alone, Rose? I thought you would know better."

I scowled at him. "I've heard the lecture before. I'm careful."

He continued to look around the street, not even making eye contact with me and then muttered under his breath.

"Sure. Come on, I'll walk you home."

I looked at him warily, but he already knew where I lived (and it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to figure it out with a few questions to my family anyway) so I silently complied by turning around and feeling him fall into pace with my footsteps as we turned back.

My tiredness had suddenly returned and I felt myself fading fast as we walked along quietly, shrouded only by shadows and the dim light of the moon.

When we finally reached my door, I turned around to thank him, but he beat me to speaking first.

"Don't walk the streets alone at night anymore, Rose. If you need someone to walk with, call your date or a family member or someone. It's not safe."

I just rolled my eyes and nodded, knowing full well that if I tried to counter his statement I would be getting myself into a losing argument. I turned around, ready to go back into my comfortable abode when he grabbed my elbow.

"Seriously, I know you've heard it before," he said, looking at me significantly, "but…just don't, especially not now." His grey eyes pleaded with me to see reason.

"Why not now?"

He hesitated, just briefly, but I could see it and shook his head.

"Don't walk around alone, Rose. It makes you an easy target."

Then he said goodnight and disappeared into the dark.

I shrugged my shoulders, vowing to myself to be extra careful if I happened to be walking the streets at night, but also promising not to wander aimlessly amongst my neighborhood without a companion any time in the near future. I know that if Scorpius Malfoy of all people is warning me about walking around at night that maybe perhaps I should seriously consider it.

Then I get into bed and close my eyes, finally putting an end to the stressful, eventful (and sexually frustrating) day.

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><p><strong>AN 2: I am re-uploading this chapter due to FF problems, if you have already read it, feel free to disregard it. By the way, I changed the summary.  
><strong>

**A/N: So, originally I was going to upload this two days ago...but then FF was being mean and not letting me login and then when it finally started working again, I was on out of town for the day :(. So, here it is, way later than it was supposed to be. Sorry for the delay. **

**As always, let me know what you think. Reviews are always welcome! **

**~wwccd  
><strong>


	3. The Box

Breathe in the air while you still can  
>Take all that you have while you still can<br>Sleep all night while you still can  
>Breathe<p>

Action Needs an Audience—Jimmy Eat World

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><p><strong>Haircut Killer Strikes Again<strong>

**By: Alison Wentworth**

_Lena Howler, a young intern at the Department of Magical Transportation in the Ministry of Magic was found dead in her flat on Monday night. Howler, who had spent Saturday night out with friends, was found by her sister, who had stopped by to return a borrowed dress._

"_It was an awful experience," Head Auror Harry Potter said in an official statement. "We ask for privacy for the victim's family and friends as we launch our investigation."_

_Howler was found with hand-like bruises on her neck (cause of death undetermined at this time, but strangling seems like a likely cause). This is a rare form of killing as most killers prefer to use their wands for this sort of brutal murder. Another significant detail about the killing is Howler's missing hair—presumably cut off by the killer post-mortem._

"_Lena's hair was awesome," Haley Markowitz, a close friend of Howler said tearfully. "We were all so jealous of her long, beautiful red colour."_

_This is the second strangle killing in a month in the London area. Both victims were young women with red hair sheared off, and both died under similar circumstances. When asked if this looked like a serial killer's work, Harry Potter said only this: "We will be looking into all possibilities." _

_One thing is for sure—if you were thinking about dying your hair red—don't._

I twirled my red hair around my finger nervously, rereading the paper again. It was not a good way to start the morning. I warmed my hands with my teacup, feeling the heat emanate from the ceramic and the steam rising to my face.

I'm not a morning person in general, I try to avoid waking up at all times but today I had decided to wake up an hour earlier, just to see what it was like. I found, mercifully, that I had extra time, so I decided to do like my mother and drink a cuppa while reading the morning paper. The headline had caught my eye immediately.

Red hair. They say it's going extinct. Whoever, "they" is. The people in white lab coats who tarry over their statistics, counting again and again. "They" have said that red hair is becoming more and more unusual. It's hard to believe, sometimes, with the extent of my family, that red headed people could ever die out. Everywhere I turn there's another red head, and we just seem to keep multiplying. So I hadn't given much thought to it recently-but they are going extinct. So why would one person target a bunch of red heads?

It didn't seem to have anything to do with my family. Otherwise they would have been targeting us, or made some kind of sign or something...wouldn't they? They wouldn't just be killing twenty something redheads.

Is that why Scorpius had told me to be careful? He's an auror so he would probably have an inside look into the whole mess. But there had only been two girls...and it was almost a month and a half apart...they weren't even sure if it was, in fact, a serial killer. I decided that I would just be more careful...no more walking around by myself at night, no talking to scary looking people, that sort of thing.

Then I got up, and gathered my things, and headed off to work.

* * *

><p><em>This girl wasn't even difficult.<em>

_She had long, shiny red hair. That's what made him notice her. She looked so much like __**her**_**. **_It didn't take long to get her alone. She had come with friends, but they had all gone different ways when they got to the club. _

_It was almost too easy._

_Get her alone, get her a drink, take her back to his place._

_Next time, he will search for a girl with more of a challenge._

_It was the most amazing feeling in the world, though. Last time it hadn't felt this good. Her pulse throbbed beneath his hands, her drunken eyes wide with horror, her gasps for breath, her inebriated arms swinging around unsuccessfully, trying to push him off. She hadn't even realized what he was doing before it was too late. She thought he just liked it dirty. In her final moments, her eyes bulged and her body fell limp._

_It was a feeling of accomplishment, perhaps. Did he really do this? Had he really succeeded?_

_The headline this morning made his stomach clinch in excitement. They had noticed! Finally! After three months...he never realized how long it took for them to notice. How insignificantly stupid they were. But now they noticed. He felt pride. _

_They had put a pretty picture of her in the article. He almost wished that the photos of her after him were released. Maybe they still would be. She looked much prettier after him._

_He pulls the black notebook from his bag and sits in silence. The waitress doesn't know him. He has never been in here before. Coming here was a mistake. This place doesn't do well with newcomers. They are all about routine. Though maybe...she has strawberry blond hair. It's not the same, but it will do. He has the urge now. The feeling._

_He puts the beautiful black planner back in his bag. She can wait. She will wait. She will be his best. But she will know what's coming for her. Not like this girl here. No, for her he will use the element of surprise._

* * *

><p>Tori was back.<p>

I knew it as soon as I heard the clicking of her heels against the tile in the hallway. Tori had a very distinctive walk. Quick, short steps to keep her from falling in her ridiculous shoes. She burst into my room like the wrath of a tornado whirling through the planes: yelling and throwing a paper straight in my face.

"Those seminars are going to be the death of me!"

She sat down in the chair across from my desk, kicking off her shoes and propping her red, blistered feet up on my desk.

"That bad, huh?"

She complains every time she goes to a seminar. I am confident that I know her entire shtick by now. First, she declares with the utmost of confidence that she will never attend a seminar again. Then, she complains about the people. The people there are so boring! Except for the little group she's created.

The call themselves the Vital Protons. They attend almost every seminar because their bosses are absolute Neanderthals and refuse to move them up any higher in the working drone ladder. The 'Vital' they get because they are completely Vital to their company (or at least so they say) the 'Proton'...I'm not sure where the proton came from. I think it's a muggle term for something or other, but I can't be sure. Tori says that this muggle-born, Michael, made it up.

"Always that bad! I don't think they changed anything in the last six months!"

I continue to vet a proposal while half listening to her, dipping my quill in the red ink and nodding my head in what I hope is a sympathetic way. I still haven't decided which of us has it the worst. Tori had her seminars or me and my editing. Either way could be argued valiantly.

"Well was he there again?"

'He' was a guy that Tori caught eyes with last time she was at one of the seminars. He was smart, funny, and Tori completely fell in like with him. She didn't know his name, hence the his being referred to as a pronoun, but she was sure that one day they would find each other again, have crazy monkey sex and produce the most beautiful children in the world, only to be rivaled by my babies, or at least so she says. Tori has it all planned out: we're going to get married, have our kids at the same time, and our kids will grow up to rule the world with their beauty and smarts.

She's convinced that my kids will be the brains of the operation and hers will be the beauty.

"I think I might have possibly seen him at some point, but he just got lost in the crowd before I could make my way over to him," She sighed, bringing her foot up to rest on her knee. "Next time though…he's mine."

I had better believe it. Tori had a certain way with the opposite sex. She could have them eating out of the palm of her hand within minutes of meeting them. She swears it has something to do with her shoes, but really I think that's just her excuse to wear them.

"So anyway, how was your night?" She raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Three months! Was it the night? Ee-oh-eeh-oh-ee-oh!" She mimed a bed squeaking.

I rolled my eyes.

"Nope. He just kissed me and left me at the front door."

"He's totally cock-blocking himself!" She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Maybe back when he was younger—"

"Tor, he's only six years older than us."

"Still—maybe back when he was younger it was normal to wait three months to get it on, but not now! Can't you just imagine it? He comes home, after a hard day's work, you're there with a bottle of firewhiskey, completely naked under your robe and then…BAM! He's drilling into you like the apocalypse is tomorrow…" She shivered, liking her lips as I winced at her mental images.

"Jeez, Tor, how long has it been?"

"Too long…too long…" She sighed, slipping on her pretty red shoes with the bow on each one. "All right, I'd better head back. You know Naughton will throw a fit if she comes back from her lunch break and finds me not there. Hypocritical whore."

Technically Jenna Naughton wasn't a whore…she was just pregnant, but to Tori it was the same thing, seeing as she didn't know who the father was. It caused quite a stir in the whole Ministry of Magic a few months back when the news came out. My whole family suffered from a miniature seizure at the news—James had been with her for a short period of time—but, mercifully, when we all did the math we realised that it would be impossible for the baby to be James'. We had all breathed a sigh of relief as this wasn't the first time that it had been a close call for James.

"When's she due again?"

"Seven weeks. Couldn't come any faster!" She twirled, heading towards the door. "The sooner she leaves the sooner someone can take her place!"

"You better be there when she gets back!"

"Exactly!"

"By the way are we still on for tonight?" I yelled to her retreating back.

"Girls Nigh Out! Whoo! Last one there buys the first round!"

I took that as a yes as she slammed the door behind her.

I settled back into my editing but not before I heard a "Wyndham!" followed by the familiar giggle of my friend and the hurried click clacking of her shoes as she ran away.

"Later, Masen!" She called. "Give Little Carlos a squeeze for me!"

Little Carlos was Masen's er…favourite appendage. I chuckled to myself and wondered what Tori had done this time to continue their infamous feud but I knew I would hear tonight anyway, so I dipped my quill back into the blood red ink.

* * *

><p>I came home to find a small white box in front of my door. I bent down to retrieve it and studied it closely. It was small, white, and light enough for me to wonder exactly what was in the box. No note came with it, so I was completely in the dark.<p>

I was about to go inside my flat and open in it when I heard the door behind me open. I turned to greet Mrs. Wimberly, the old widow who lived across from but stopped short when I saw Scorpius Malfoy being ushered out of her flat with a kind smile.

"Thank you so much dear, I don't know what I would have done without you." She smiled brightly at him.

"Oh, Rose!" She said, noticing me. "How are you, dear? I'm so glad that you are here! It's such good fortune!"

For Mrs. Wimberly, everything was 'good fortune'. It was her catch phrase. The newspaper came at the same time as her monthly women's cloak catalogue? Good fortune! We both exited our flats at the same time to go to the grocery? Good fortune! Me meeting her outside her flat with Scorpius Malfoy in tow? Good fortune!

I smiled just hearing her kind voice.

"Hello, Mrs. Wimberly. How are you today?"

"I'm doing well, dear. I had quite a fright earlier, I fell from the top rung of my ladder, you see, but this kind young gentleman helped me out and now I'm good as new! He's an auror, you know!" Her bright blue eyes shined with happiness.

Only Mrs. Wimberly would be so happy about a near death experience.

I exchanged a small glance with Scorpius, smiling. I did know that he was an auror.

"Hello, Scorpius. Fancy seeing you here."

"Rose," he nodded his head in greeting.

Mrs. Wimberly watched our exchange with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh! Good fortune! You two already know each other! He's single, you know, Rose." She said, winking at me.

I felt my face flush as Scorpius's cheeky grin grew even wider at her comment.

"Oh yes, but I'm with Wes, Mrs. Wimberly." I grappled with my door handle awkwardly, trying to extricate myself from the situation.

"Oh pish!" She exclaimed. "That one's going nowhere!" She rolled her eyes. "I can tell these sort of things, dear! Invite him in for tea, will you? I'm know that sitting here with a blind old bat all day has done nothing for Mr. Malfoy's viewing pleasure. I'm sure he'd love to see a pretty little redhead like you!"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows in delight.

"Mrs. Wimberly, I'm with," she backed up and slammed her door, leaving Scorpius and me standing out in the corridor alone. "…Wes."

Scorpius smirked at me. "How much you want to bet she's watching from her peephole?"

I sighed, resigned.

"Just one cup, Malfoy?"

He smirked at me and motioned for me to lead the way.

I lead him through my flat, straight into the kitchen, side stepping my living area which looked almost impeccable aside from the laundry strewn across the couches and arm chairs. It was a shame, too, I love the couch and arm chairs. They're part of a matching, dark leather, set and I usually love to have people sit in them when I entertain. Instead, Malfoy's going to get my messy kitchenette, a sink filled with dishes and a kettle and teacups that need to be washed before I allow anyone to drink out of them.

"Ignore the mess." I called back to him. "I wasn't expecting company."

He shrugged. "It's fine, it's not as bad as I was expecting."

I chose to ignore the bait and instead rolled my eyes at his immaturity. Scorpius Malfoy had a way of pushing my buttons like no other when we were back at school. I like to think that we have both matured to the point that we no longer bicker over the slightest things.

We both entered my kitchen together and I set down my things before heading over to the sink and washing out the kettle and teacups.

"What's in the box?" He said curiously, shaking the item in question.

"Dunno. I was about to open it when you somehow managed to wrangle an invitation for tea." I sighed, putting the kettle on the stove.

"You want to open it while I prepare the tea?"

I whirled around, studying him cautiously and he rolled his eyes.

"C'mon Rose. I know you hate waiting."

His blue eyes crinkled with some kind of emotion as he saw my gaze linger on the box in his hand. I wanted so badly to open it…

"Fine. One lump of sugar."

"I remember."

I marched up, took the white box from him with a tug, and lifted the lid as I heard him rustling around in my cabinets. I peeked in with apprehension and then just stared at the object inside of it.

"Scorpius." My voice felt hoarse as I continued to stare at it, wondering if my eyes could possibly be deceiving me.

"What?" He said from the other side of the room.

When I didn't answer, I heard him stride across the room and felt him spin me around, his hands on my shoulder.

"Rose?"

I lifted the box to him and showed him the contents: one lock of red hair. He swore, and looked into my eyes, clearly enunciating every word he said. "Rose, call your dad."

I stared at him in confusion.

"Rose!" He said loudly.

I nodded and pulled my wand from my boot where I had kept it.

"Expecto Patronum!" The silvery animal leaped from my wand and pranced around me. I uttered only one word before it bounded out the window. "Daddy."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:...ta da! Feel free to check out my blog where you will find the playlist for this chapter of Guarded and other fun ramblings. The link is in my profile!  
><strong>

**Do let me know what you think, your reviews are very much appreciated!**

**~wwccd  
><strong>


	4. The Aurors

So we keep on waiting, waiting

Waiting on the world to change

-John Mayer

* * *

><p>The box just lay there, taking up space on my counter conspicuously. The kettle steamed and both Scorpius and I ignored it for a minute, still staring at the lone lock of vibrant red hair that shone against the pure whiteness of the box. It looked as if it were illuminated, glowing. It looked like a flicker of a flame, ready to jump out of the box and attack us viciously. It was mesmerizing, yet, at the same time, frightening. I didn't know what to think. It couldn't be…it couldn't be the hair of <em>her<em>. That just wasn't possible. These murders, the victims had nothing to do with my family. I had already decided that.

I finally shook myself out of my trance and robotically made my way over to the kettle, taking it off the stove. Scorpius followed me over to it.

"I'll do it." He placed his hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head, deciding instead to focus on something normal instead of the omen-like substance on my counter. I continued preparing the tea until I heard the loud pounding on the door that announced the arrival of my father.

"Rosie? Rose what's wrong?" His face was flushed and he was yelling at the top of his lungs, looking around my flat frantically.

"Dad." I turned around, leaning on the counter for support and attempting to smile pathetically as Malfoy watched on cautiously. "You might want to get Uncle Harry."

He looked at me confused and then finally noticed the parcel on the counter.

"What's this?"

I blanched, lifting my teacup and taking a sip, just to do something, anything to get my focus away from the unwanted presence on my counter.

He didn't wait for an answer, but strode over to the box with admirable confidence, lifting it cautiously and examining the contents. His face turned from a flushed red to a positively puce colour and immediately he whipped out his wand and with an _Expecto Patronum_ his patronus appeared, silvery and wispy, and left quickly with an urgent message for my uncle. He then began to pace, muttering to himself and hardly seeming to realise that he was still in the presence of others.

It only took my uncle a few minutes to appear at the door of my apartment with a slightly disoriented look on his face. He quickly regained his composure,

"Rose, Malfoy." He nodded in greeting.

My dad's head swiveled around to look at us.

"Malfoy? What the buggering hell are you doing here?" He seemed honestly surprised at Malfoy's presence in my flat which made me realise just how preoccupied he was with the white box and my current distress. He was an auror, trained to notice everything in every room for his own safety. Though perhaps he had not thought that there would be anything dangerous in his own daughter's flat, which he himself had protected with his privacy and safety charms.

"I've been here the whole time, Sir." Malfoy replied.

It was weird to hear Scorpius sound so respectful and calm. He almost never had the ability to keep his observations and opinions to himself whilst at Hogwarts, despite being a thousand different kinds of polite whilst doing so, and I often found myself surprised at his dexterity of being able to silence himself when the opportunity arose. It seemed almost second nature to him, speaking his mind, but he never did so with my father. I found this slightly amusing and wondered vaguely whether if it was because Dad wouldn't appreciate his observations, often so useful in the field, to be used on him.

"What are you doing here, then?" He asked suspiciously.

"You sent me to Mrs. Wimberley's just across the hall, Sir."

At my father's blank face he continued. "The witch who fell off her ladder." He clarified.

"Right." My dad muttered.

"Sorry, what's going on?" My Uncle Harry said, looking vaguely irritated.

My father grabbed him by the elbow and led him over to the offending object that still lay on my counter and the two of them continued to discuss things in hushed voices and Scorpius and I idly sipped our tea and waited to be filled in on the progress. I monitored them avidly: my father's insistent whispers, my uncle's head-shaking frustration as he ran his hand repeatedly through his dark hair. Every once in a while they would glance back at me with a worried look on their face.

I tried to remain as calm as possible which was becoming exceedingly difficult to do as the continuous silence, marred only by the frantic low conversation of my relatives became increasingly more difficult for me to handle. I began to fidget and practically gulped down all of my tea in record time, not even bothering to acknowledge the scalding liquid that was burning my throat. I fidget when I'm nervous or uneasy, it's something that I've always done, and this time was no exception.

"You reckon the Wasps will win the match this Saturday?" Scorpius questioned.

I gave him a look of disbelief and refrained from commenting, instead directing my attention to my uncle who had finally managed to pull himself from the private conversation with my father and address me.

"Okay, Rose. Here's what we're going to do."

He looked at me piercingly, his green eyes bright and vibrant. "So far as we know, this piece of hair means absolutely nothing. It could be the wrong address or something," He winced, knowing his argument sounded weak, "We're not going to panic, we're not going to take drastic measure just yet. First, we're going to send this back to the office and do a few tests on it. We will put a few more protective charms on your flat, and we will wait until the results come back to do anything permanent."

I nodded understanding, knowing full well that we could all be making a mountain out of a mole hill, but my father looked minutely displeased. Knowing him, he'd want a bodyguard on me at all times, a thousand extra safety charms on my flat, and to move in with me whilst this whole thing was going on. All because a box with a lock of hair showed up at my door step.

"We'll just ask you a few questions about the box so that we can write a full report on it."

"Okay." I nodded in agreement as Uncle Harry pulled out a notepad and quill, going into professional auror mode. He looked serious, his face blank, a mask to hide all emotions.

"Where did you find the box?"

"It was on my doorstep when I got home from work."

"Was there any message on the box?" He asked, his voice void of emotion.

"No. I had just assumed the box was for me because it was on my doorstep." I fiddled with my hands, rubbing them together like I was washing them with soap and saw Malfoy studying me from the corner of my eye.

"How could it have gotten there?"

I had to stop and think about it for a moment. I honestly had no idea. I picked my flat for a reason: we have great privacy. We had a screening test in order to become a resident in the building, Bluebell Gateway, and there was no way someone could have gotten past the apparation-proof charms, the gate where every tenant must enter their personal pass code, and Vivienne who sits at the front desk, dressed to the nines in her posh clothes but doing nothing in reality.

I told him of these security measures.

"Who has access to your flat?"

I thought for a moment.

"My parents, of course, my brother, Hugo, my friend Tori and my cousin Albus. The rest just have me buzz them up when they come. I try to keep my pass code to only a close group of people, for obvious reasons. I am certain that each of these people mentioned would never, ever, give away my pass code, for whatever reason."

I realised that I'm starting to sound professional too, more detached. This is no ordinary conversation with my Uncle Harry where we joked about James and his pranks, Albus and his self-esteem issues, or Lily and her fiery temper. This was a conversation between the Head Auror and a Victim.

"Would there have been any way for someone to acquire your pass code without your knowledge?"

"Maybe if they had seen me enter it at the gate when I came in, but I can't think of anyone who has stood close to me when I've entered it. It's one of those things that you would know because they would have to practically be looking over your shoulder to see it. And there are no tones when you press the buttons, so he wouldn't be able to hear the tones and imitate them."

I have obviously heard way too many cases amongst my uncle, my father, and my cousin aurors because I am able to answer their questions so thoroughly. I also have a little auror 101 training myself, because my father thought it would be beneficial to my everyday life.

"No, the only person who knows all the pass codes of all the tenants is the landlord, but he's in America currently. He lives there during the winters…." I trailed off when a sudden thought struck me. "Oh! I had almost forgotten! Our cleaning lady, Gilda, and her daughter, Marie, sometimes have access to my flat, we all love Gilda. She has been working here for years and nothing has ever gone missing, no mysterious incidents or anything. She's really a dear and her daughter Marie is prepping to take over her business and she's as well-liked as her mum. But they don't know the pass codes. They go in the back and Viv lets them in."

At their confused looks, I clarify.

"Viv is the lady at the front desk."

"Ah yes. Vivienne Newbridge." Scorpius chimed in. "She let me up earlier today. Asked for my identification and everything. Very thorough."

I nodded in agreement. No one got through Vivienne Newbridge. Not if she could help it. She was a very talented witch.

My uncle nodded, frowning.

"You landlord's name?"

"Mr. John Browning."

His frown deepened.

"Is there any way we could get in touch with him?"

"Send him an owl." I shrugged.

"Does he usually respond promptly?"

"Oh, yes, always."

"All right, just a few more questions. Would there be any reason for someone to send you a lock of red hair? An inside joke with a friend? Looking for a new hair colour with the help of a stylist? Anything?"

He looked almost desperate at this point, like I would suddenly remember that this whole thing was a farce, something that one of my loony friends would do just for fun. Haha—sent you a lock of my hair! How great is that?

"No, not that I can think of." I answered honestly.

"Okay, Rose. Malfoy here is going to check to make sure all your rooms are clear of suspicious items and your father and I are going to set a few more protection charms on your flat and building, just for a few precautionary safety measures. Keep your pass code safe and make sure that no one is trying to steal it—it would help us all out of you would keep your eye out for any suspicious behaviour, just in case. Sound all right with you?"

I nodded.

"Good. Now why don't you and Scorpius take a tour and let him know if anything is out of place. I don't think the person who delivered this box entered the premises, but it would make all of us feel better if we knew that for certain.

"Okay. C'mon Malfoy."

We both left the kitchen and started to tour throughout the flat, me making sure that none of my things were disturbed, trying to remember if that was _exactly_ how I had left my stacks of laundry, amongst other things. Malfoy didn't seem too worried and I figured he didn't think that any of this was necessary just for a lock of hair. No one said that Weasleys weren't prone to overreacting.

"All good here?" He asked, smiling devilishly as we reached my bedroom.

I surveyed our surroundings and noted to my embarrassment that everything was exactly where I had left it, including the large stack of lingerie in the middle of the floor. I have a weakness for lingerie. It's a bad, bad, weakness. I have way too much of it: pinks, blues, greens, blacks, laces, silks, I had it all. It's quite possibly an addiction.

One great thing about lingerie is that it doesn't have to be just for the guy. It can be for you, too. You feel sexy when wearing it, but nobody else has to know. You can spend a whole day at the office, editing until your eyes go blurry and still know that you're wearing a cute pair of knickers and the matching bra. It's like an inside joke with yourself. If only they knew what you were wearing….

I blushed ferociously and with a flick of my wand, banished all my undergarments into their appropriate drawers.

"Yes." I mumbled in response to his question.

"You sure? Nothing wrong with your drawers? Don't need me to check those?" He winked.

"Scorpius…"

"Only trying to lighten the mood."

He was smirking so belligerently that I continued to blush, even though the offending garments were no longer in sight.

I laughed weakly.

"Obviously that didn't work." He sighed.

"Sorry, I just don't think that anything will help at this point."

I sighed, leading him out of my room and into the hallway.

"Didn't expect it to. It was a long shot. You okay?"

"I think so." I answered hesitantly.

"Really? You're not going to have more of a reaction than that? Most people would be freaking out." He sounded genuinely curious, studying me through his periphery vision, like I had studied him earlier.

"There's still a chance…it might not be hers."

_Lena_. That was her name. The girl whose hair may or may not be on my counter (was it still on my counter?). Had she known when she woke up that morning it would be her last? Had she thought to herself, "Gosh, today I'll be murdered and my hair will be cut off and end up in a box on someone else's counter"? Probably not. Well, unless she was twisted. She was just as unsuspecting as I was, after all.

I hadn't woken up today and thought "Today I'll find a box on my doorstep with a lock of red hair in it!" after all.

Had he cut it off before or after he killed her? I couldn't help thinking about it. Did she know that he had cut off her hair? The hair she had grown out and styled and cleaned and put up in pony tails. Something that was so completely _hers_, something he had taken away. I am a girl after all; I know how we can get about our hair.

"Rose…"

He hesitated, not saying any more. But the unsaid was blindingly clear. 'Don't rule out the option that the hair is hers.' It said. Don't be a dumb, oblivious, ignorant fool.

"I'm just going to wait to freak out before I know anything." I defended myself.

"All right," he said uncertainly, looking at me with concern.

"Okay, Rosie." Uncle Harry interrupted us, coming into the sitting room where we had stopped to have our conversation. "We've set some more protective charms around our flat. You should feel very safe."

"Okay, thank you."

I hugged my uncle and father and gave Scorpius a curt nod as they left my flat. The only thing I had a desire to do for the rest of the night was curl up with a book and a bottle of wine. So that's what I did, but it seemed that my mind wouldn't leave the matter at hand. My whole life now depended on the results of a few tests. It was an unsettling feeling, like being back at school again, but to more of an extreme.

So instead, I did what I always do when stressed out and a book can't distract me. I cleaned. I pulled out my wand and spent the remainder of the night cleaning spastically: scrubbing the floors, the counters, sweeping, mopping, and doing everything the muggle way to get my mind off of matters at hand. Then I drank the bottle of wine in bed, feeling exhaustedly content with only a flicker of unease.

But as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw that vibrant, luminous shade of red.

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>**/N: Sorry, sorry sorry. I apologise. I know that I should have updated sooner but I couldn't help it, really. So here it is now, and as always feel free to let me know what you think! **

**~wwccd**


	5. The Brunch

And I cannot guess what we'll discover  
>When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels<br>But I know our filthy hands can wash one another's  
>And not one speck will remain<p>

-Death Cab for Cutie

* * *

><p>My flat looked impeccable. The counters shined, the laundry was gone from the couch and chairs and relocated to the closet, hung and pressed. The toilets were scrubbed, the wood was dusted, even the baseboards were washed. I was running out of things to do to keep me busy. The windows were so clean that it didn't look like they were there at all, it was as if I could just reach my hand through the opening and touch the clean outside air.<p>

I was standing on a stool, looking around at my little kitchenette and wondering if it would be worth the risk to dust the tops of the cupboards by hand when my door burst open revealing my cousin Albus.

"Get dressed, woman, we're going to Stumpy's!"

I rolled my eyes at his immaturity.

"And what if I had already eaten?"

Albus just scoffed and rolled his eyes at me, lifting me down from the stool and greeting me with a quick peck on the cheek. I attempted to smooth out his unruly hair, but to no avail, as per usual. That boy is lucky that most girls think that messy hair is attractive nowadays (no doubt due to the influence his father had on making unruly hair attractive) otherwise he'd be without a warm body beside him in bed.

"Please, Rose, you don't have breakfast, you drink tea. But I've decided that we're going to have brunch at Stumpy's. It's been awhile. Also, we need to have a discussion." He looked at me meaningfully.

I had to admit, the intrigue made it difficult to turn the offer down.

"Ooh. What topics will we be discussing?"

Albus smirked, knowing he had me. "Oh a wide variety, I assure you. Now get ready." He smacked my butt and twirled me to face the direction of my room. "If you manage to get ready in less than ten minutes, I'll pay."

Ten minutes! Now that's an offer I couldn't refuse. I threw on yesterday's outfit, lavender robes and some dragon skin boots, ran a brush through my hair and reapplied some make up, returning to the room a mere 7 minutes and 52 seconds later.

"Hah! I think I'll eat enough to buy you out of house and home today, Ablie!" I teased him by using the nick name he hated the most, he often called it atrocious.

He just rolled his eyes and supervised my locking up. I triple checked the lock, just in case something weird tried to end up inside my flat today, as opposed to merely sitting on my doorstep. Albus watched on curiously, but didn't say anything about my sudden fit of obsessive compulsive disorder.

"I think your flat is sufficiently locked, Rose. Now, are you ready to get some grub?"

I smiled delightedly at the thought of eating a well cooked meal. It's not that I wasn't capable in the kitchen, but most nights I was entirely too lazy to cook myself a good meal and usually ended up taking the easy way out by heating up something Nana Weasley had sent me. Good meals were usually reserved for Sunday nights, as most times it was a lot of effort just to feed one person. Plus, Nana Weasley always sent me food. All of us, really. I don't think she's quite accustomed to only cooking for her and Poppa Weasley.

Albus didn't even wait for an answer as he took my hand and apparated us to Stumpy's grill. The bell on the door jingles as we open it and we catch the attention of the tired man behind the counter. Stumpy's is a relatively well kept secret amongst my family and a few others. He usually gets most of his business at night, which leaves his mornings free. I love going here to get brunch and catch up with Stumpy, who always seems to know what's going on before the majority of the world. Personally, I think it's because he has a lot of interesting clientele that can get a little too wordy after a few drinks, but Stumpy always refuses to tell us where he gets his information, instead just quoting a "credible source".

"Hello, Stump!" I smile and wave.

"Rose Weasley and Albus Potter! Do my eyes deceive me?" He joked easily. "Take a place wherever you want and I'll be with ya shortly. Got loads to tell ya!"

There were no menus at Stumpy's. You were either a regular here, or you weren't and only the regulars knew the menu consisted of practically anything in the kitchen sink. If you were adventurous, you asked for the Surprise, which Stump usually just made up on the spot, and for the most part, ended up being quite delicious, except for those times when it most definitely was not. Personally, I liked to stay on the safe side. But that didn't stop a few of my family members from trying the Surprise.

Albus and I headed over to a booth in the back corner of the grill, which was practically deserted except for a young family of four near the front. The parents were each feeding a child some breakfast all the while making googly eyes at each other in way that made me inwardly sigh and hope that I could have something like that some day. maybe with Wes, if everything worked out. Although, I suppose in order to have kids, you'd actually have to have sex first.

"What can I get you kids?" Stumpy asked, hobbling over to our table with a wink. The wink made me wonder for a second if he could read my mind.

"Pancakes, please." I smiled sweetly at him.

"So, the usual, Miss Rosie Posie. Sure I can't tempt you with that Surprise today?"

I think it might be Stumpy's life mission to have me try his special Surprise, but he has yet to convince me to try it.

"Not today, thank you. I just need some good, old fashioned comfort food after the week I just had."

"All righty, then, pancakes for the lady. Albus?"

Albus considered a moment, his eyes flashing to the family's table, and then made his decision. "Just an omelet today, thanks."

Stumpy looked a little disappointed, but smiled as he nodded and wrote down our orders before limping away.

Stumpy wasn't always called Stumpy. He was originally called by his given name: Edmond Ray Stellworth the third. That is, until he had a slight accident in the field. Edmond Ray Stellworth the third used to be a great auror. Oh, the stories that could be told of his glory days, the kids listen with rapt attention to every single word. I remember, mostly because I was one of those kids.

He used to work with my father and uncle in the auror department; that's how we came to find out about the grill. Stumpy's never told the full story of how he got the stump on his leg, a result from having to cut off his right foot after some complications in the field, but he accepted his nick name with the grace of a man much more mature than his years. He hasn't married to this day, but I'm convinced that Linda Killinger is going to tie him down sometime. That lady sits in the grill every night, keeping him company. And sooner or later he's bound to realise that his stump doesn't prevent him from being husband material.

"So, Rosie, tough week?"

I made a face at Albus in reply.

"It could have been worse, I suppose."

But I'm still waiting on the results of some tests that could have the potential to make me question my own safety at every turn. And here I thought I was going to stop thinking about it.

"Joana still on edge?"

"I think she barely remembers to breathe."

Albus nodded in understanding.

"What about you? Life good?"

Albus and I have always been close. Our parents are really good friends, not to mention my dad is his mum's brother, so we're also cousins. It helped when we were younger to be close in age, what with all the other cousins running around. We always had each other's back through it all- through James' torments, and Fred's pranks. Through Victoire's makeovers and Louis' Quidditch games. Through Dominique's cooking disasters and Roxanne's tantrums and Hugo and Lily's teasing. We were in the same year at school and we had been through so much together already, I guess we kind of became friends by default.

"Yeah. Leah keeps dropping hints about becoming more serious though."

"I thought you guys were already pretty serious. You practically live together!" I commented, taking a sip of water that had levitated over to us.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. It's been year and half and I guess she's getting kind of antsy or something. She keeps mumbling about her biological clock ticking."

I rolled my eyes.

"That's what you get for dating an older woman!"

Technically, the age gap between Albus and Leah wasn't as great as the age gap between Wes and me, but I just like to tease him about it. Leah's only twenty seven, and she might be feeling the pressure to settle down, but in reality she still has some wiggle room.

"I know," Albus groaned, hanging his head. "She's been feeling insecure lately, after that younger girl took the job she really wanted for the new Witch's Weekly make up line shoot and ever since it's been 'Do you still find me attractive, Al? Am I still pretty? Am I all old and wrinkled?"

I just laughed at him. "And that's what you get for dating a model!"

"Maybe I should break it off with her." He said, but I could tell his heart really wasn't in it. He loved that girl to pieces.

I gasped in surprise.

"Oh no! You can't do that! She's so lovely and not psycho and gets along with the family!"

He nodded, full knowing how difficult it was to find someone who understood the extent of what our family does for each other. Our family is big and loud and a lot of fun, and despite the fights we love each other very much. Sometimes it's hard to find someone who can fit into all the madness, and who takes in the chaos with grace and humility, someone who doesn't mind being teased and someone who ends up loving them as much as we do.

It can be quite the feat to find somebody who you love, but also who your family loves. Or, at least, the majority of your family. Some people will always disagree just to be difficult.

"Plus, you love her."

At the remark, a goofy grin appeared on Albus's face and I knew right then that this might be it for him.

"That I do." He nodded.

"You know what you have to do, right?" I asked him expectantly.

]"What?"

"Make her feel pretty again!"

He stared at me incredulously and asked again, "What?"

"Come on, you just told me she's feeling insecure and not as pretty anymore. It's practically your job as her significant other to make her feel loved and beautiful again. Then she'll stop moaning and you'll go back to being hunky dory again."

He looked at me, eyes wide, and he processed what I said, then smirked.

"I think I've got just the thing..."

Just as I was about to ask him what he was going to do, Stumpy came hobbling over our food trailing in the air behind him.

"Well, you two. Interested in hearing a bit about what's been going on upstairs?"

By upstairs, he meant the Ministry of Magic. Stumpy was always on the look out for possible spies to come into his place and arrest him for speaking against the ministry, so he insists on using the code word. Just in case. The plates took their place in front of us and I picked up my fork and knife, ready for story time about the Ministry.

"Anything good happening, Stump?" Albus asked.

"Sure, sure. Like always, we've got the insipid, insignificant drones, sitting up there asking for the Minister to resign, as per usual, not like that's gonna happen. First off, there aren't that many of 'em, second off, the Minister's done nothing wrong." He shook his head sadly, "There'll always be those people who just like to make it difficult for the world, ya know?"

I sat there, chewing on the deliciousness that was my pancakes. Stumpy was even better than reading the newspaper. Stumpy got news that even the newspapers didn't cover. It was like having a back stage pass to the Ministry of Magic.

"Then there's been a riot out in Birmingham about use of magic for the under seventeens, not that they'll win that one, either. Just a bunch of teenagers thinkin' that their life sucks when they haven't even experienced the world yet." He shook his leg without a foot and laughed sardonically, "Just wait, after a few years, maybe when they have kids, they'll be singin' a different tune."

The family of four called out a good bye to Stumpy and waved, exiting the grill and leaving it completely empty except for us.

Stumpy glanced around, and cleared his throat.

"The most interestin' though, has to be the mystery down at the auror's office. Sounds like something straight out of a novel, really. They're calling him The Haircut Killer."

I sat up straight in my seat, shocked, the food formed an uncomfortable lump in my throat. My spine stiffened and I clutched my silverware tightly, until my knuckles turned white. Luckily, neither man beside me noticed my reaction as I gulped and leaned in further to figure out more about the man whose story seemed to call to me.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of him." Albus said, "Sounds like something serious." He glanced at me from his periphery vision.

"That's what I've heard." Stumpy said. "Prefers redheaded girls, strangles them, I think, and then cuts off their hair. Three murders so far, but the most disturbin' thing is that there's this cute little waitress at the cafe across the street, Meredith. She's not exactly a redhead, more of a strawberry blond, but Martha, the owner of the cafe, said she didn't show up to work yesterday."

He looked grave, haunted almost. His eyes looked dead as he stared out the window, across the street. Stumpy has seen a lot in life, and if he is worried about this haircut killer being more than just a fluke, I know I better watch my back.

Stumpy glanced at me, and seemingly just noticed the colour of my hair.

"Better keep your hair tied up, Rosie, and be on the alert, just in case, sweetheart. Wouldn't want somethin' to happen to ya."

I forced a smile.

"Will, do Stumpy, for sure. Just to give you the peace of mind."

"Means a lot sweetie, now I have to get back behind the counter so I don't scare away the people who come in off the street. Holler at me if you need anything else."

And with a smile and wave, he hobbled back to where he came from.

"That's pretty strange about the Haircut Killer, don't you think?" Albus asked.

I nodded in reply, wondering if I should tell him about what was happening. I was going through the pros and cons when Albus interrupted my train of thought with a comment.

"So, Scorpius told me that you and Wes are going through a rough patch. What's wrong?"

"What?" I asked, appalled. "What would make him think that?"

Albus chuckled at my reaction.

"He told me you'd react like that if I mentioned it."

"Scorpius Malfoy needs to find something to shove up his pie hole to keep him from making unnecessary, untrue remarks about other people!"

"C'mon Rose, he wouldn't have said anything if he weren't concerned for you."

"Scorpius Malfoy, concerned my arse," I said. "He just wants you to figure out what's bothering me so he can be proved right!"

"So there is something wrong?" Albus questioned innocently, his green eyes sparkling.

I knew there was a reason I should never continue to be friends with someone who works in the Wizengamot. They sniff you out too easily.

"Maybe." I sulked.

"Okay. Tell cousin Al about it." He popped the last bite of omelet into his mouth.

I hesitated, knowing he wouldn't want to hear it. But then, I came to the conclusion that it served him right. He thought he need to know so badly why Wes and I were less than perfect, and I knew he'd be horrified by the answer. Well, he asked for it.

"We haven't exactly...consummated our relationship yet." I muttered, staring at my pancakes.

It took him a moment.

"You what? Seriously? How long as it been?"

He looked genuinely curious and not horrified at all, I thought disappointedly.

"Three months."

"But you...don't you want to?"

I rolled my eyes at him. Of course, being a boy, he would think that this problem stemmed from me.

"Of course _I_ want to Albus," I said condescendingly, "but _he_ has yet to show any interest."

Albus just gaped at me in response.

"Tori thinks that he's trying to make me fall in love with him before he whips out his third ball, Lily is convinced that he's going for the Prince Charming act, but all I know is that it's been three months and we never get passed a quick snog session and it's driving me crazy!"

Hah. Now Albus looked a bit disgusted.

"Merlin. I dunno, how old is he anyway? Can he not get it up? Maybe he's using you as a cover up for being gay."

"Albus!" I screeched at him, glaring. "Not helpful."

"Sorry, sorry, it's just...I can't actually think of a good reason why a guy wouldn't want to um...do that with you."

"Still. Not. Helpful."

"Erm..." he squirmed uncomfortably. "I dunno, really."

"Well you asked, now you have to give me your opinion! You can't just ask and beg me to tell you and not say anything!"

And then he blushed. I swear on my life, Albus Potter blushed while discussing my sex life. Albus Potter hasn't blushed when talking about sex until after he was de-virignized by Courtney McCullough.

"Oh Merlin..." he muttered to himself before saying, "have you tried coming on to him?"

"I'm giving off all the signals, Al. The Bloody Baron would know that I wanted to sleep with him."

"Just wait it out then, is my bet. I dunno maybe the last girl he was with wanted to do something kinky and he still hasn't recovered."

Well, that was really reassuring.

"Whatever. Thanks for the advice. By the way, don't tell Scorpius."

He shuddered. "It was hard enough just hearing it, don't think I could repeat it. Remind me next time I ask that I really do not want to know about your sex life."

"Will do." I smiled triumphantly at him. He knows that I'll remember. I always remember.

Albus set some money on the table, and we both waved to Stumpy, and then headed out on the street, the words of Stumpy ringing in my ears the entire time 'Better keep your hair tied up, Rosie, and be on the alert, just in case, sweetheart. Wouldn't want somethin' to happen to ya'.

"Apparate me back to my place?" I asked, looking around the street. "Just in case?"

"Course." Albus said, holding my hand tightly as we spun into oblivion. We had just landed in the lobby of my building when we noticed three very familiar figures at the desk talking to Viv.

"Dad?" I called, looking across the room.

His head whipped round so fast I thought it would fall off.

"Rosie, thank Merlin!" He dashed over and swept me up into a tight embrace.

"Rose, we have to talk." My Uncle Harry said, coming up behind him and giving me a brief hug. He glanced at Albus before, nodding and motioning for us to follow him. He lead us up to my flat, and there I unlocked the door for everyone to enter.

"We'll go in first, Rose. Just in case." Uncle Harry said, moving his arm out in front of me, like a shield, protecting me just in case. "Ron, try living room and kitchen space, Malfoy take the bedroom."

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

Albus and I stood at the door and heard them call out before we entered. Albus looked extremely confused and had taken over his father's protective stance as we entered the premises. When we went inside, I found Malfoy making a cuppa and my father and uncle talking in whispers.

I knew something was wrong. Could it be something about that waitress Stumpy had mentioned was missing? Was this about the haircut killer? The lock of hair that was left for me on my own doorstep?

"Rose, sit down." My uncle motioned for me to sit on my favourite comfy couch and I settled down, twisting my hands.

"Someone else has been found. A girl, a redhead, with her hair cut off, but there was something that...deviated from the norm in this case." He looked at me sternly, seriously, his green eyes piercing me as he tried to emphasize how much this would affect me. "She was found with a white rose in her mouth and we have reason to believe that the haircut killer may be targeting you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I bet you thought that I had abandoned this story. In actuality, I tried to write this chapter at least fifty times, with a completely different feel to it. However, it just didn't seem right. And then i went back and reread a few times very, very thoroughly and I realised that there was a reason it didn't feel right, so then I scrapped that whole thing and wrote this instead. Which I am very happy with and was actually able to finish writing the chapter, a huge plus.**

**Many thanks to everyone who continues to be patient with me, I'm getting back into the swing of things. I hope you like it! If you want to hear the playlist for this chapter of Guarded, look at my blog (link in the profile, as per usual).**

**Also, answer the poll on my profile page, if you care.**

**And, as always, let me know what you think!**

**~wwccd**


	6. The Bodyguards

_This girl actually thought she had a fighting chance. Of course, her death was made all the more beautiful through her struggling. He still had nail marks etched into his skin from where she scratched and clawed, her long, lean fingers desperately holding on to the flicker of life within. _

_Why is it that the people near death cling to the living?_

_She was his best by far. The rose had been a sudden inspiration, brought about only by the fortune of passing by a flower shop on her street soon after he left her residence. The rose had been a spurt of genius; the kind of genius that only came around every so often and only then held a brilliance that could not be denied._

_But he had digressed._

_He found himself just two days later back in the cafe within which his last one had worked. After all, if he had only come in there once and then totally disappeared. He even acted disappointed after asking for the beautiful strawberry blond waitress he had last time; only to discover that she, of course, had not shown herself for two days. Instead, a dastardly, surly, man served him cold coffee. _

_It was then he had discovered that the black planner wasn't hers. He growled in a vicious fury, his white knuckled hands clutching the dastardly pile of parchment. He felt a burning desire to rip it page from page, to burn it to ashes, until the fire was just an ember and his rage had quieted. _

_He nearly did._

_Instead, he nodded to the waiter, paid his check, and left. _

_He despised it when his plans went wrong, but his rage lessened as he walked, devising and scheming; a new plan. _

_He threw planner into the street, where it landed in a puddle._

* * *

><p>My hands were shaking. I couldn't even fidget, they were shaking so bad.<p>

"What?" My voice broke as I said the word.

My Uncle and Father shifted and looked at each other in uncertainty, as if they were unsure how to begin. Until Scorpius butted in.

"Look, Rose, we can't tell you why, we can't tell you how we know. We can't tell you anything at all."

Albus placed a strong, warm hand in mine and squeezed.

Scorpius continued, "What we can tell you is this: you will be put under protective watch twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. You will have an auror with you at all times. You must go about your life as you normally would. I know this will be difficult to do," his grey eyes looked at me pointedly, "but please, stay as true to your daily routine as possible."

I shifted, and Albus' grip on my hand tightened again. Scorpius paused, arching an eyebrow, probably waiting for a reaction from me, but I was finding it difficult to form words, let alone sentences.

"Who have you put on the case?" Albus asked.

Scorpius looked to my Uncle and Father. Uncle Harry's eyes said it all: they never wanted to be in this position. To have to protect one of their own. hadn't they had enough pain and suffering in their lives? Hadn't they paid their dues to death?

Uncle Harry answered, "It's up to Scorpius." His voice was quiet, but his tone was final.

"Why is he in charge?" Albus roared, standing from his seat, his hand still in mine. "Shouldn't we protect her? What does he know about guarding a life?"

"Albus," Uncle Harry said miserably, "Scorpius is more than qualified. And we're too close." He hung his head and pressed the palms of his hands against his closed eyes. "We can't look at this objectively."

My father was puce with emotion. Rage, despair, helplessness. For the first time in my life, he was completely silent.

"Objectively! Hah!" Albus scoffed. "You know he can't be objective about her! None of us can!"

I tugged my hand from his grasp and fisted it in my lap; pressing the palms of my hands together I twisted and untwisted. Why wasn't I crying? Why wasn't I distraught? A man was out for my blood and all I could do was listen listlessly to my family and former fling discuss what was best to do with me in this situation. Dare I broach the subject of wanting to know how they knew? How they were so certain that this psycho was out for me?

For God's sake! The red hair could of been from Tori as a joke! They had no reason to jump to such obscene conclusions such as the Haircut Killer is targeting me! What proof do they have? Then again, they must know something that I don't, they must have some kind of proof, some kind of evidence.

"If something is really happening, if he's really out there haunting me down, then I want the best people working on the case. And you guys are the best! I don't want my life thrown in the hands of some stranger who will do a half assed job! Do whatever you have to do; guard me, protect me, put me in a lockdown until this nightmare is over. I will cooperate fully."

My quiet interjection stilled the argument before me. I could see the worry in all their faces, etched into the very expressions that stared back at me apprehensively. I could feel the tension crackle in the air as they glanced at each other and communicated silently.

"And if I do need bodyguards, I would prefer to have the best you can offer. I think it would make everyone feel as secure as we can in this situation. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a shower, if possible."

Scorpius nodded an affirmative response and I made my way through my flat to the bathroom, eager and anxious to rid myself of the filth the conversation had brought. To cleanse myself and calm myself from they hysteria that I knew I was just on the verge of. If only I could keep it together for a few minutes until I was under the warm water to start crying.

I couldn't meltdown in front of them. I had to stay strong, because I knew they are just as scared as I am. I could see it in their eyes, in their stance, in every movement they made.

I took a long shower, cleansing and crying a little bit, but mostly just standing there, under the water, staring at the wall. My whole body felt numb, and I had trouble trying to grasp the concept of actually leaving the shower and getting out the of the warmth enveloping me. Eventually, somehow, I did.

I towel-dried my hair quickly, threw it up into a bun and put on some of my most comfortable clothes and headed back out into the tiny kitchenette of my flat where a congregation of aurors seemed to be occurring. Three new people stood in my kitchen, conversing quietly amongst themselves, and staring inquisitively at my uncle, father and Scorpius.

As soon as I walked in, the quiet chatter stopped and I could feel myself being appraised.

Scorpius took the lead once again, motioning for me to stand by him. His hand settled on my shoulder as we looked at the newcomers.

"Rose, these will be your bodyguards. They will be with you at all times. Please be reassured that they are the best we have to offer right now." He glanced at me sternly, as enunciated the next words very carefully, "Please do as you said you would and cooperate with them. None of us want anything to happen to you and one way that we can guarantee your safety is if you are in the presence of at least one person in this room at all times."

I nodded my acknowledgement and he cleared his throat. "I'll start from the left."

He nodded to the serious looking young man on our left and he stepped out of line, almost like a solider would, his eyes straight ahead, his stance erect, not even the briefest hesitance or slump.

"This is Dimitri Ivanov. He will watch over you from midnight until you arrive at work, which, unless I am mistaken is usually around nine."

I studied the large, burly, churlish man in front of me doubtfully. In that moment, as silly as it was, I made a bet with myself: I would try to make him smile at some point over the mission. Even just a half smile, a twitch of the graveyard shift must be a lonely one. He would be in my dark flat, left to his own devices to entertain himself. He also had the pleasure of seeing me in the morning, a difficulty for any sane person who actually loved me, let alone some stranger who was only assigned to care about my life.

"Nice to meet you."

He finally moved from his stationary stance and glanced down at me like a student would look at a project. His eyes bored into my head and his brow furrowed just the slightest at what he saw. Maybe he was expecting me to be as pretty as Lily is, who knows.

He lifted his hand to shake and my pale freckled hand was engulfed in his large calloused one. No smile. Mission accepted.

Malfoy studied us curiously for a few seconds, before nodding at Dmitri and Dmitri stepped back into his place in line. As Dimitri stepped back, he revealed a thin, purple-haired woman with violet eyes to match. Her long fingers weaved through her hair in a dance that seemed choreographed and as old as the young woman herself. She stepped forward next with a smile.

"Rose, this is Iris. She has been appointed your personal assistant by Nott. She will keep tabs on you at the ministry and throughout your work day. She has special training in Covert Ops, which is why at work you will know her as Mini Davenport. Her fondness for purple hair will not be shown at the office, for obvious reasons. Remember that for when you see her tomorrow. "

I nodded quickly and smiled tentatively at my new co-worker.

"It's a pleasure, Rose," her sweet voice resonated throughout the small room. "Trust me, you'll get bored of this one here," she waved to Dmitri good-naturedly. "And I've always wondered what it would be like to work in...So, really you're doing me a favour if you think about it! Oh, but don't worry, you won't be bothered by me, I can do the work really well. Being able to fake things kind of comes with my specialty in Cover Ops-"

"Iris." Scorpius interjected.

"Right, sorry." She smiled tentatively at him, her voice wavering. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early then! This no-nonsense man will get everything straightened out for us and hopefully there will be no kinks! And I won't look the same tomorrow, because my purple hair is pretty obvious, even though I love dying it this colour because I like to think it just suits me, you know? But anyway, if I look different, I definitely will always be wearing something purple!"

Scorpius cleared his throat.

"And she will be introducing herself to you as Mini Davenport." He nodded at her and she stepped sheepishly back into line.

I scrutinized the lithe figure in front of me, wondering if she would be able to do the job. Wasn't the whole point to keep me safe? What if she got off on a tangent and...

Scorpius squeezed my shoulder slightly, in an almost comforting manner as the last bodyguard stepped out of line.

"This here is Cooper Brighton, but we all refer to him as Coop."

'Coop' stepped out of line. His lanky, tall build reminded me of some of my cousins, but his dirty blond, hazel eyes seemed friendly and unassuming. He certainly wasn't as intimidating as Dmitri, but he seemed calmer than Iris, a nice, easy medium.

"Howdy."

And he was American, to boot.

"Nice to meet you."

His rough, calloused hand shook mine purposefully and his warm smile immediately made me feel safe. But what was an American doing working for the British Ministry? They usually had to go through a lot of paperwork even to come to the country, what with increasingly more intense foreign policies coming about as a result of a more globalized wizarding world.

He ignored my curious glance and looked toward Scorpius to explain his job.

Scorpius had been looking at the two of us intently, and I knew something was brewing in that mind of his, I could just tell, but he only said, "Coop's going to take care of you after work until when Dmitri shows up."

Cooper stepped back in line with Dmitri and Iris: my three bodyguards lined up in one place.

"In addition to these three here, there will be a team following throughout the day. If you leave the office they will follow you, if you leave the Ministry, they will be on your tail. You won't see them, but be certain that they will be there. They are able to contact any of the three in front of you in case they lose track of you-but we don't expect that will happen." Scorpius pivoted so that he was looking at me straight in the eye. "All of us here are dedicated to keeping you safe Rose, if you feel uncomfortable or feel any kind of unnerving feeling, don't hesitate to let anyone in this room know. Sometimes your unconscious mind picks up on things that you don't realize you're noticing."

I stared at him dumbly.

"Do you have any questions?"

I could barely comprehend anything he was saying. How did he expect me to be able to think critically about it and actually think of questions.

"I...no...not at the moment." I stuttered.

Scorpius sighed and took his hand off my shoulder, rubbing it on his pant leg. Somebody get her a cup of tea, splash of milk, two sugars."

Iris quickly hurried to the kettle. While I sidestepped Scorpius's attempt to comfort me by rushing to my Dad and hugging him. My Dad always gave the best hugs, always.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight, Rosie?" He asked quietly in my ear.

I shook my head and held him tighter. "Just hold me now, please."

I caught Albus and Uncle Harry's worried glances, but ignored them anyway. I heard Scorpius talking quietly with the Dmitri and Cooper but I zoned them out. I stayed in my Dad's embrace for what felt like forever, but was probably only a handful of minutes, until Iris handed me a cup of tea.

I caught the tail end of Scorpius's conversation "It's just a tentative plan for now, we'll see how quickly this can get resolved. But if not, would you consider doing it?"

"Absolutely," Coop affirmed whatever Scorpius was asking of him whilst Dmitri stood still and silent beside them.

Scorpius nodded and then glanced to me. We locked gazes for a few seconds, and a whole rift of emotions went through his expression. But all too quickly, it was replaced by a stoic face and a confident Malfoy.

"Okay, Rose. I'm going to leave you now. Iris and Cooper will see you tomorrow and we'll leave you here with your family and Dmitri, even though technically this would normally be Coop's shift, we still have a few things to work out for tomorrow. Okay?"

I nodded, still finding it difficult to believe that this was really happening. Then, one by one, my bodyguards and family left until it was only me and Dmitri, silently sitting in my flat. The silence felt ominous, as if I were waiting for danger to come and get me, and there was nothing I could do about it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello, lovelies. It's good to be back! Sorry for the long wait, but I went through some crazy life changes and I've just been able to get back into the swing of things. Updates will most likely start becoming more regular, every couple of weeks or so if I can do it, but we shall see. Hope you all enjoy this next installment and I look forward to hearing from you in the reviews! You never fail to let me down :)**

**~wwccd**


	7. The Breakdown

I wished that I had been left with anyone except Dmitri. Iris and Cooper would have at least made polite conversation. The stoic burly man that sat across the room from me did nothing. I could barely hear his breathing; otherwise I might even be forced to consider the fact that he was dead.

Dead.

Would I die soon? I wish Scorpius could tell me why they were so certain that the Haircut Killer was targeting me. Just because of a simple flower suddenly my whole world seems to be crumbling down around me. Bodyguards, an auror team stalking me, and I was already starting to become more paranoid than the time that I was expecting Fred to prank me back after a particularly excellent retribution by yours truly in fourth year.

And as pathetic as it sounded, I wanted my mum. She has been really busy at work as of late and I felt like I hadn't seen her in ages. To be completely honest, my mum is my best friend. Don't get me wrong, I love Tori, Lily and Albus to death, but no one quite beats my mum. She just has this mum way of calming me, and I could really use her right now. But she's off visiting Uncle Charlie in Romania right now, and I can't help feeling abandoned.

They all offered to stay, of course, before they left. My dad was completely up for setting up a cot in my small living room, but I wouldn't hear of it. If they caught wind of the fact that I was as scared as I was, I would never be left alone. And while that was probably a good thing, my family can get a bit…excited…about things.

And that was when I lost it. I started sobbing uncontrollably into my hands, gasping for breath. I forgot all about Dmitri in the corner and let it go, all the fear that disturbed my inner peace. I sat there, rocking back and forth for Merlin knows how long.

When my sobs finally abated, I noticed that Dmitri was now sitting next to me on the couch, not touching me, just simply sitting there. In fact, he wasn't even looking at me. But I didn't need him to comfort me; I didn't really need anything from him except his presence. Hell, I didn't even know the guy. But if he was going to be by my side every night for the foreseeable future, I needed to get adjusted to his acquaintance. And, of course, make him smile.

"Please don't tell my family about that." My watery whisper echoed through the silent apartment.

He nodded once, still not looking at me, but instead around my room, perhaps by now he had committed it to memory. Like I said, there's not much to my little flat.

I felt like giggling suddenly as if my emotional release had not stopped just by letting all of my negative emotions out, but that my emotional floodgates had swung open. I felt strangely freer, cathartic even.

"You can look at me, you know." I smirked at him, my voice returning to its normal volume.

"Sure." He uttered his first word in my presence.

"Is this a normal assignment for you?"

I asked this question purely out of curiosity. He certainly seemed qualified for the job, he was tall and intimidating, the perfect type of bodyguard. But I couldn't help but feel that perhaps he was almost over qualified.

"No. I'm usually in the field."

Short, curt, the exact answer that I had expected from Dmitri Ivanov.

I sighed and pulled the blanket that was hanging down the side of my couch and wrapped it around my shivering body.

"Well, I hope that this assignment is at least a little interesting for you. Let me know if I need to spice it up a bit by going missing or something." My attempt at a joke fell flat; we both knew I wasn't serious.

Or, at least, I thought we were both aware. Apparently Dmitri wasn't one hundred percent certain because his dark, black eyes bored into me unwaveringly as he studied me.

"Ms. Weasley, please don't ever do that."

I sighed.

"Oh, please call me Rose. Believe me, once you get around my family calling me 'Ms. Weasley' won't make any sense anymore. And it appears that we will be spending lots of time with each other."

He continued to watch me as I finally got up from the couch, keeping my blanket snuggled around me form warmth.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now, anyhow. But feel free to read any of the books—are you a reader? Or you could raid my kitchen, I don't have much, but if you want something just be sure to add it to the list I keep on the cabinet. Um…if you get cold there are extra linens in the hall cupboard. Make yourself at home, I suppose."

I stood uncertainly in the doorway, trying to think of anything else that I could offer the poor man sitting in my living room, though he looked slightly mortified at the homely comforts I was offering him. He seemed like the all work, no play type of guy, after all. Poor bloke.

"Ms. Weasley, please go to bed. I won't be any trouble. Just go about your normal routine and you won't even notice me."

I almost laughed at that. Like I wouldn't be able to see the 6'6 strong, intimidating man sitting in my living room; I'm not going to lie, he was attractive. But in the 'I'm bad for you and you know it' kind of way, and I have never really been into that.

"I highly doubt that, Dmitri." I winked at him and then giggled at his horrified look. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You're just too easy to tease. You see, I grew up in a large family, if you didn't get teased, well let's just say that we were all teased at some point."

He shook his practically shaved, except for a little bit of rough stubble, head.

"I should check your room before you go to bed."

I nodded and watched the strong man walked around my tiny flat, looking completely out of place. It took him only a few moments before he nodded, and told me it was all clear.

I got ready for bed, gracefully attempting to ignore the intimidating presence in my apartment. Even though I couldn't see him, I still felt incredibly safe now that he was here. But I would make him smile. And figure out how someone who was normally in the field ended up becoming my bodyguard, because surely that was abnormal.

* * *

><p>Should I? Should I not? He was still there; I had seen him as I had started my morning routine. He continued to sit in my living room and I briefly wondered if he had even moved. He certainly hadn't taken up any of my offers. Should I? Should I not? I should.<p>

"Dmitri!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

He barreled in halfway through the yelling of his name, throwing open the door, wand at the ready, only to discover me holding two robes in front of my body, studying myself in the mirror.

"Red or blue?"

He gave me a cold look and turning on his heel, stalked out of the room.

I sighed and threw on the blue robe, racing off to the kitchenette to prepare a cup of tea. Already late, I was worried that I wouldn't have time to do anything besides rush out of the house in a hurry. But Dmitri stood by the kettle, finishing up my cup and his. He handed it to me wordlessly, his pale eyes glancing over me passively, despite the fact that he had seen me in only my unmentionables just moments ago.

Somewhere along the way, the mission of getting him to smile had shifted into getting him to express any emotion at all.

"I think I may love you."

Nope, his stoic face was as still as a statue. But I will get him to show emotion. I had felt sure that by telling him I loved him I might get at least an eyebrow raise. Well, maybe when I was more awake.

He grabbed me by the arm and we locked the flat behind us. A quick double check ensured that it was indeed locked. As soon as we reached the lobby we apparated to the Ministry, where Dmitri held an arm out to steady me, even though I was perfectly capable of landing by myself; but it was still nice of him to look out for me.

We stood in front of the ministry for a few seconds, as Dmitri surveyed the surrounding area as if looking for something. As it turned out, he was looking for someone. Soon a tall and statuesque beautiful dark skinned woman approached us. Her black hair was long and luminescent and she held herself with grace and poise.

She looked like she belonged anywhere besides the ministry of magic. She stopped in front of us and extended her hand for us to shake, a purple bracelet secured around her thin wrist.

"Hello there, you must be Rose Weasley. I am Mini Davenport. I'm assuming Theodore Nott told you to expect me?"

It…this couldn't be….Iris? I stood in shock, my mouth agape as I stared at the transformation of the small, lithe Iris into this stunning woman.

Dmitri nudged me gently on the shoulder until I came back to earth.

"Why yes, Mini. We have been expecting you. It's so great to finally meet you."

"Pleasure." She smiled and her perfect white teeth almost blinded me.

Iris-Mini made a short conversation with Dmitri as I zoned them out, he was giving her an update on what had occurred last night, and I sighed with relief when he didn't mention anything about my breakdown. That is, until I heard him mention something about a lot of rain and I realised that it hadn't rained at all last night.

"Hey! I made you promise not to tell anyone!" I hit him lightly on his shoulder, though I'm sure to him it felt only like a light tap.

He glanced at me sternly, as if daring me to hit him again.

"You told me not to tell your family, and I haven't done that. But Iris and Coop will need to know all the details. And you know that Malfoy will know, even if no one tells him."

I recognise the truth in this and sigh resignedly, waiting for them to finally finish their conversation so I'm not late to work.

But soon the strange, yet familiar, click clack sound reached my ears. Tori was coming.

"Rose Weasley! You never showed up last night, you fat cow! You owe me at least three drinks! But actually it's probably better that you didn't come because I met this absolutely divine man, he gave me the best night of my life to date! And oh—sorry to interrupt, I'm Tori Wyndham and you are?"

I was grateful that Tori had stopped herself mid-rant. There were some things that you really didn't need to know about your best friends.

"Tori, this is Mini Davenport, Nott just hired her as an event coordinator."

"Hi nice to meet you," Tori stuck her hand out.

"Pleasure." Iris-Mini responded accordingly.

"And this is—" But as I looked around, I realised that Dmitri was nowhere to be seen. The sneaky bastard. But Tori would have intimidated him anyway. She was much worse than I am.

"Oh, I just love your bracelet!" Tori was squealing.

"Thank you, I made it myself."

I remained quiet as I trailed along with my best friend and bodyguard-in-disguise. I could hardly say that my life was uninteresting anymore. Who knew how this day would turn out? And I hadn't even spent anytime with my third and final bodyguard, Cooper "Coop" yet. And I had a feeling that I would be seeing much more of Scorpius Malfoy that I have since school. I just didn't know if that was a good thing. The man could always read me like a book. I may be able to hide from my family, but hiding from Scorpius Malfoy has never been one of my strong points.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, please don't kill me. I know I told you last time that I would start to update regularly and that was...well...8 months ago? Sorry! But see my profile if you have any questions. I know there's not a lot of Scorp in this chapter, but he's coming, I promise! She just needs to get a little more acquainted with her body guards first! Please let me know, what you think, as always. And feel free to hate me for taking so long. If this happens again (which I desperately hope it does not!) please keep badgering me until I finally update! **

**~wwccd**


	8. The Long Day

_His next target stood outside of Eeylops Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley, staring in the window longingly. Her bright red, almost orange, hair glimmered in the fading sunlight and he knew in that moment that she would be next. _

_He sidled up to her with a friendly smile, noting that upon seeing her face up close, her faint age lines became glaringly more apparent. A moment of second-guessing his choice, wondering if perhaps she were too old, he strengthened his resolve in his decision._

_She was hardly paying any attention to him at all; in fact she was staring longingly at a young man inside the shop. No, that wouldn't do. But just as he pasted on his friendly smile again, she made toward the door of the store and entered. He followed her stealthily but quickly, not drawing any attention to himself._

_She stood in front of the snowy owls, all the while making eyes at the young man. They young man was sat behind the counter, studying a piece of parchment intently, occasionally picking up a quill to make a mark on the already cluttered roll. Eventually, his target gave up and went to the counter, finally drawing the attention of the young blond man._

"_Hi there, Luce," the young man smiled enthusiastically, "shopping for a companion for Hermes?"_

"_Ha! I wish!" 'Luce' said, smiling brilliantly. _

_He quite liked that smile. She was pretty, in an unassuming way, but he was certain that if it weren't for her hair no one would look twice at her. She was plain, but her hair made her worthy._

_The young couple continued their conversation as he inconspicuously made his way round the store, all the while imagining how his hands would feel around her small, delicate neck._

"_Scamander!" A loud voice bellowed from the back room. "Have you finished the inventory yet?"_

_He turned just in time to see a large, fat man come out of the back and roll his eyes at the pair. _

"_If you'd have stopped talking to Miss Weasley for a moment, ya might have realised we have another customer as well. Anything we can help you with, sir?"_

_He stood frozen in time for a moment, then quickly grabbed the first thing he saw in front of him. As the older man rang him up, he internally berated himself. Of course he knew that she had family that shared her hair colour. But he had made himself a promise at the beginning. No family members. None until her. _

_He smiled and thanking the man who had rung him up, wished him a good day. He then stalked out of the store, holding a useless bag of owl feed and not even daring to glance at the other young Weasley girl behind him, for fear he would lose his control and target her anyway._

_With such luscious long locks practically begging for his attention it was amazing that he had the ability to control himself. But he did. He had to. Because she would be his first._

_He never felt the eyes of the young couple upon him as he exited the shop._

* * *

><p>My day was emotionally exhausting. An unusual warm spell had flung its way through the city, as if over night and the muggy weather was doing nothing for my rather fragile emotional state.<p>

Nott had assigned Iris-Mini the office next to mine, for some reason, and she had spent most of her time in my office quote, un-quote "learning the ropes"—because naturally, every single event planner must learn the ropes from undersecretary to the undersecretary of the Head of the Department of International Magic Cooperation. I may have to talk to Malfoy about that one.

Anyway, by the time my workday was over and Iris-Mini had made up some excuse to grab an old planner of mine back at my flat (so she could accompany me home, I believe) I was ready for a bottle of wine, a book, and my snuggly blanket. What I got instead, was a visitor.

My wrinkled robes felt gross and sticky from sweat, my hair was in a state, I had thrown it up early in the afternoon so as to give a little cool air to the nape of my neck, and I really felt like crying. Iris-Mini was trialing along behind me, babbling incessantly and to be completely honest, I really wasn't paying attention to what she was saying at all. I did my best to get my mind off of the ominous person who was targeting me, but my mind kept wandering back to him. What did he look like? Was he following me now? What on earth did he want with me? Why was he targeting me? Why was I so special?

When I entered my building, Iris-Mini following behind me, I saw a familiar tall figure standing at the front desk, talking to Vivienne quietly. His dark hair was disheveled and he kept running his hand through it, something that was completely unlike him.

"Wes?"

"Rose!" he turned quickly and walked towards me. "I have been looking for you everywhere, love! Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in ages."

Though ages may have been a bit of an exaggeration, I couldn't help but wonder when exactly the last time I had spoken with my boyfriend was. Had we talked at all since our lackluster third month anniversary?

Iris-Mini was beside me in a second, instantly alert and ready, probably in case of a predator. Were my bodyguards briefed on my boyfriend? Because I don't remember ever really mentioning him…

"Hi Wes."

Iris-Mini cleared her throat beside me and I took that as a cue to introduce them. Only problem is…who do I introduce her as? I decided to take the safe route.

"Wes, this is Mini Davenport. Nott just hired her as an event planner for the Department of International Magic Cooperation, Mini, this is my boyfriend Wes."

If Iris-Mini was completely unaware of Wes's existence, she played it off well, casually starting a conversation with him, steering him away from me effortlessly as I crept away quietly to get my mail from Viv.

As I approached Vivienne, I admired her clean, classy appearance and felt a bit self-conscious about my own unkempt appearance.

"Hi Viv, mail for me?"

She had been smiling before but it vanished as soon as I said anything.

"No. Rose, didn't you know? Your mail has already been picked up. Scorpius Malfoy even gave me a note, signed by you, giving him permission to pick it up."

What? He…he did what?! I managed to play it off, but inside I was furious. Scorpius Malfoy had better start learning that I was willing to be cooperative, but he had to inform me of certain things before he went ahead and did them!

"Oh, thanks Viv. I didn't know if Scorp had gotten around to it yet."

She looked at me curiously. Viv has always been smart, and very competent, probably overqualified for being a glorified receptionist, but her little son Travis prevented her from being a full-time anything. She seems to like her job here though, but she's no flake. She's probably wondering why Scorpius Malfoy has a handwritten note from me.

I hadn't noticed Iris-Mini and Wes heading my direction until Wes's confused voice interrupted our conversation.

"Rose, why would Malfoy be getting your mail?" There was a muscle in Wes's jaw that was jumping, and though he remained calm on the outside, I just knew that he was angry with me. I was a horrible girlfriend! I should have called him and let him know what was going on, but he was the last person on my mind. And now thanks to Scorpius Malfoy, I have to come up with some stupid excuse for something that he did that I have to explain to my boyfriend and it's all his fault.

Merlin, I wish that I were as inventive as Fred.

"His girlfriend dumped him and kicked him out so he's staying with me for awhile."

Yes, that should do nicely.

But Wes's face was contorted with disgust as I waved goodbye to Viv, leading the other two up the staircase that led to the second floor, where my flat was.

"You're living with a man?'

"Well, some people prefer the term ferret, but I suppose technically, yes, Scorpius is a man."

Iris-Mini giggled at my comment but Wes remained unmoved. I moved to open my door but realised it was already open and Wes was looking behind me uncertainly his gaze focusing on something unwaveringly.

"Why thank you, Rose, I love it when you reassure people of my humanity."

And the first word that entered my mind was 'Crap.' My second thought? 'He's so going to get me back for this.' But I turned on my brave face and smiled brightly at the young man standing next to me, who had taken the liberty of throwing his arm around my shoulder. Beside him, I noticed briefly, stood Cooper, the next person in charge of my well-being. He was dressed in muggle clothing and stood out like a sore thumb.

"Any time, Scorpius. Did you get the mail?"

I think the glare I gave him may have caught him up on the fact that he had neglected to inform me that he would now be sifting through my personal belongings.

"It's all in the kitchen, on the counter, love."

I narrowed my eyes at his tall, pale figure.

"Oh, thank you. I just love it when you get my things for me."

He chuckled at my sarcasm, lifting an eyebrow as if challenging me to go any further.

"Rose?"

I turned to see Wes looking around at the group of us, and more specifically, eyeing Scorpius's arm around my shoulders. I quickly shrugged out of his grasp and scooted over to Wes, slipping my hand into his.

I caught Scorpius's surprised eye, but turning back to my boyfriend I introduced him to the two newcomers.

"Wes, this is Scorpius Malfoy, I'm sure you've heard of him and his lover, Cooper—the reason why Scorpius was kicked out. Scorpius, Cooper, this is my boyfriend Wes."

I heard Scorpius's growl and smirked, and giggled a little at Cooper's shocked face, his eyebrows receding into his hairline. Iris-Mini just watched on in cautious amusement.

"Oh," Wes said, still buying the whole gay lover thing. He stuck out his hand to shake Scorpius's but Scorp just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Rose, kindly don't refer to Cooper as my lover. He prefers the term partner."

"Hey!" This came from the American man in the corner. "Man, if you want to take it to the next level, you have to talk to me about it first! You can't just spring it on me in front of a bunch of people!"

I giggled at Cooper's willingness to follow Scorpius's lead; that must be something that comes from auror training.

Wes was staring between the two of them curiously and I decided to clue him in.

"I'm only kidding, Wes. Scorpius and Cooper aren't gay. They work together."

Wes frowned cautiously, staring at me in a silly confused manner. One of the things I love about him is that he's a very logical man. Sometimes, however, his logical thought gets in the way of his sense of humor.

"What?"

"Never mind. Why don't we all go inside before Mrs. Wimberly comes out, thinking there's a party in the hallway or something."

I ushered everyone inside my tiny flat, noting that Iris-Mini and Cooper had slunk off to a corner of my sitting room, speaking in hushed toned and Scorpius and Wes followed behind me, Wes was staring at Scorp uncertainly (a look that I'm sure would be pasted on his face for the entirety of their time in the same room together). Scorpius, however, was only looking at me. My guess is he was thinking of the multitude of ways he could get me back for insulting his humanity and his sexuality in one conversation.

"Wes, would you like some tea?"

He shook his head, eyeing the pile of mail on my counter with disdain.

"Rose, I actually already prepared some tea for you," Scorpius smirked in my direction, motioning to the teacup beside the mail.

"Thank you!" Even though wine was what I really wanted, tea that was already prepared would be a nice substitute.

Wes frowned as I grabbed the warm teacup, but ignored it instead focusing on the wonderful smell of tea and the comforting feel of warm ceramic in my hands. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more to do than change out of my disgusting work robes and slip into something comfortable. So, I did just that.

"I'll be back, I need to change."

"Oh, Rose!" Iris-Mini called from across the room, "Can I grab that notebook from you now? I need to be on my way!"

I motioned for her to follow me and the two of us entered my bedroom together. I grabbed a throw pillow from my window seat and with a flick of my wand transfigured it into a notebook.

"Here, I'm sorry, you're probably on overtime right now."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Iris-Mini slowly transformed, from the tall, beautiful, statuesque Mini Davenport, back to the small, lithe, purple-haired Iris. She shook herself, as if shaking away Mini, and continued. "I was told working with Malfoy would be this way. They say that overtime is a requirement."

I smiled at her, much preferring Iris to Mini.

"I can imagine. Even at school he was that way."

I suddenly remembered a flash of late nights at the library, Malfoy and I being the only ones in there, but stubbornly sticking to our prejudices, sitting across the room from each other, rarely ever even glancing at each other. It was as if we were in competition from day one. Eventually, of course, that had subsided, and we focused our leftover energy into a more…physical aspect of our acquaintanceship. We had never gone far, and we were never too serious about it, when we were no longer in close quarters anymore, after school, it seemed to fade away. But I'm sure Scorpius's work ethic hasn't deviated too much from the past.

"Yeah, I'd imagine so." I chuckled. "Go ahead, you should apparate from here. Wes is still out there and he thinks you're Mini."

Her hazel eyes went wide with concern. "Oh, you're right! Thanks so much, Rose. I'll see you tomorrow!" and with a spin, she was gone.

I changed quickly and returned to the three men in my kitchen.

"What happened to your tea?"

Wes was frowning again, perhaps at my choice of attire (a worn out Chudley Cannons t-shirt that went nearly to my knees) or perhaps because he really was concerned about my cup of tea.

"I decided it was time to switch my drink of choice." I replied, grabbing a bottle of wine. "Actually Wes, if you don't mind, maybe we could catch up later? I've had an awful day and I won't be much company."

He nodded and I walked him towards the door, still holding the bottle of wine. We kissed quickly, just a peck, and he waved a hand in goodbye, heading down the stairs. When I returned to the kitchen I saw that Scorp had set out two wine glasses.

"Hope you don't mind if I join you. After all, I am living here now." He said the last bit sarcastically but I giggled and handed him the bottle.

"Go for it. I'm going to turn on the radio. A rerun of Lee's show should be on by now."

My uncle's old friend from school, Lee Jordan, had an amazingly hilarious radio show, filled with Celestia Warbeck-free music and amusing guest stars. It was the perfect thing for tonight.

I turned to ask Cooper if he wanted any wine and caught him glancing at my legs. I smirked at him, and he smiled sheepishly in reply as he went to sit down in an arm chair in the sitting room.

Scorpius handed me a glass of wine and the two of us sat down on the leather couch, silently enjoying the radio. Oliver Wood was a guest star this time, and Lee spent a lot of time teasing him about his surprise romance with his now-wife, Katie.

After the show, the conversation flowed naturally, as the three of us kept each other company. Coop told us a bit about America, Scorp and I bantered back and forth and when I woke up in my bed this morning, I had the distinct memory of snuggling next to Scorpius on the couch before he finally lifted me up, instead of levitating because he knows I hate flying in any sort of fashion, and carried me to bed.

I never felt safer.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi there! Another prompt update by yours truly, as an effort to show you that I am very, very serious about this whole updating promptly thing. I will probably be updating _Desolation_ soon too. I really loved being able to subtly introduce a few more characters in this chapter as well-any thoughts? And I think there might also be a guest appearance by a certain mum next chapter...So, anyway, let me know what you guys think, as always. I look forward to hearing from you!_  
><em>**

**~wwccd**


	9. The Night Terrors

I woke up screaming.

The racing of my pulse was in my ears and my body was thrashing around on its own accord, desperately seeking escape from whatever was threatening me.

I was dead asleep. I couldn't remember my dream, even when it was occurring. The only thing I remembered was blackness and a dark figure moving around. I knew who the figure was, he reminded me of someone, but I couldn't put a finger on his name. Instead I just stood there and watch him shift his weight from one foot to the other. That was when my screaming started in the dream.

I was still thrashing around on the bed, kicking around the covers when my door was thrown open instantaneously, banging against the wall which it hit with great force.

"Rose," he said lowly, as if trying to gauge my sanity.

My voice was hoarse from screaming as I responded, "Yeah?'

"Nightmare?" His voice was soft, low, but yet somehow still held the clipped tone that I had been so used to associating with him.

"I guess so," my voice had become shakier by the moment, remembering the vague dream.

"Tea?"

I almost appreciated the fact that he didn't want to talk a lot, talk about it. I certainly didn't want to. Just his presence made it a little better.

"No, thank you. I think I'm going to try to go back to sleep."

My voice hardly sounded like my own, it was gravelly, husky, as if someone had put my vocal cords through a blender. Coupled with the screaming and the fatigue, I knew it was very likely that my voice could be gone by tomorrow when I (hopefully) woke up again. The interrupted sleep certainly wasn't helping any.

"Are you sure?" Dmitri seemed hesitant, as if by leaving me alone I would erupt into a fit of bloodcurdling screams. Judging from the past few minutes, I honestly couldn't blame him for his uncertainty.

"I'm fine, Dmitri, honestly."

But as I closed my eyes again, I was very far from fine. I was still shaky, the adrenaline in my system had yet to work itself out and I felt unsettled, like I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. I pushed these thoughts aside and again snuggled into my warm covers, pretending like the past five minutes (was it really so short?) had never happened.

* * *

><p>When I awoke again, it seemed like a normal morning. The muted sunlight shone through the window of my bedroom, the slight drizzle of the London rain was heard from the outside world, and my entire flat smelled like the sweet aroma of tea. Living with bodyguards did have its perks.<p>

I spent a little longer time in the shower than I should have, watching the soap suds run off my body, feeling the warmth of the water beneath my fingers and on my back. Wary of talking, I barely said a word to Dmitri as I bustled around his silent form.

I momentarily wondered how strange he must feel, as I was barely beginning my day, his was just ending. He hardly looked fatigued, but with his limited facial expressions, Dmitri hardly ever looked anything at all. He didn't even have bags under his eyes, which led me to question what exactly he did during the time he wasn't occupied with guarding my life. Looking at the large, burly man in front of me I shuddered and decided that it was probably for the best that I didn't know.

Miraculously, the normally constant teetering pile of things I usually held condensed itself into a much more manageable pile—probably Cooper's neat freak doing—and nothing was dropped or misplaced. When I reached the ministry, I ventured out to find Tori before I headed to my respective department.

"Tor, you won't believe what happened last night."

"Did you final nail Wes the Distress?" Came her bubbly, upbeat reply.

Tori had this insane habit of nicknaming my boyfriends, especially the ones she didn't like. And none of the names were particularly flattering, but to credit her creativity , they always rhymed. For instance, there was Zane the Insane, Frank the Tank, Jake the Flake, and Chuck the um…Clusterfuck (his name was particularly unflattering due to his particularly unflattering personality that I had been temporarily blinded to because he offered to pay my way around the seven wonders of the magical world) just to name a few.

"Ah, no. And Wes the Distress, really? That's what we're going with?

Tori smiled mischievously at me, widening her eyes in a way that made her look slightly crazed.

"Wes the Distress is perfect, Rosie. I'm Distressed that he seems to be a thirty year old virgin who apparently has no plan to even attempt to get into your pants. What's up with that? Do you think you're his beard? Maybe he's totally into one of your family members!"

Sadly, this had actually happened before. Tori had never come up with a clever nickname for Jared but he had sadly no interest in me anyway. He was actually interested in James, someone he really had no chance with seeing as James loved women all over, all the time, everywhere he could get. His goal remains to love a girl in every country he's ever visited. But anyway, that did not last long to say the least, and I loathe being reminded of such an embarrassing instance. At least I hadn't done anything with him, he probably would have been imagining James instead of me and that just wigs me out.

"Ew, Tor. Stop."

"I'm just saying. Past experience has shown—"

"Yes, that my boyfriends suck, thanks for reminding me. But I think Wes might be the one."

Okay, blatant lie. But it was only to prove a point.

"Hah. No you don't. No one would think that that boring old lump of distressness would be the one unless they were an equally boring lump of distressness which you, my dear, are not."

"Shut up, Tor."

I turn as if to leave when she interrupts the process.

"Wait, what happened last night?"

I hesitated for a moment and then shook my head; my sharing mood had evaporated completely.

"Nothing important." And then I left.

My day at work was blissfully uneventful. I edited, chatted with Iris/Mini and just focused on other, more normal things than waking up in the middle of the night screaming. When Cooper came to pick me up—I had introduced him around as a friend around the office, and everyone seemed to buy it because my family works in the auror department anyway, so they all thought we were just hanging out, they didn't suspect that he was hired to protect me—I felt relieved.

"Hey Coop," I smiled brightly at the attractive man in front of me.

"Rose," he returned the smile. "What are we eating tonight? I looked up some pasta recipes if you're feeling Italian, or whatever else you want."

Oh yes, Cooper cooked. And he was actually pretty decent. Okay, decent might be a bit of tame word. He was really, really good. And usually, if I supplied the supplies and ingredients, and offered to the dishes, he would cook without complaining.

"Pasta sounds great to me! Do we need to pick anything up on the way?"

"Nope, I think we got it all. Also, I found a really good recipe for a chocolate lava cake that I've been wanting to try out."

"Have I mentioned lately that I love you?"

"Only if you count yesterday. And the day before that. And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, the day before that too." His dimpled smile made me giggle with delight.

"Well, one more time won't hurt any, right?"

He slung his arm around my shoulder as I waved goodbye to Iris/Mini and the rest of the office and we headed back to my flat.

As he cooked, I set up the table, giving us a nice ambiance, flowers and a few candles, just for fun. I poured the wine for both of us and we were chatting nicely until I heard a key turn in the lock.

"ROSE NYMPHADORA WEASLEY!"

Cooper was immediately on edge, tense and unnervingly concerned. I just rolled my eyes. "Get ready to meet my mother, " I mumbled.

"In the kitchen, mum!"

She rushed in in a tizzy, enveloping me in one of her famously tight hugs immediately.

"RoseI'vebeensoworriedyourfatherhans'ttoldmeanythi ng,thegit,andnowsuddenlyI'mjustsupposedtoknowthaty ou'rebeingprotectedbybodyguardsandaurros." She spoke so quickly I'm positive that Coop had no idea what she was saying. "Howareyoudoingsweetie?Ihopethisahsn'tbeentoostres sfulforyou. Merlin,whatarewegoingtodo?"

"Mum. It's okay. Dad and Uncle Harry got it covered." So far as I know anyway. I heard Cooper cough behind me. "This is Cooper, I'm sure I'm in good hands."

"Are you…_cooking_?" My mother's concerned faced turned incredulous.

"Cooper is, mum. You know I inherited your cooking skills."

"And Cooper is…?"

"Mum, Cooper, Cooper, this is my mum, Hermione Weasley. I'm sure you've heard of her."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Cooper said politely, holding out his hand to shake.

My mum ignored the hand and hugged him too. Normally she wouldn't be so undignified but I suppose due to the fact that my father had just now let the news slip that I was being guarded 24/7 she might be a little emotional. But that was just my hunch.

"Oh, thank you so much. And that smells delicious, by the way."

"We have enough for one more, if you want to stay."

My mum nervously tucked her notoriously bushy hair into a bun at the nape of her neck and I watched as her eyes darted around the kitchen.

"Oh, I'd love to, really. But I'm just not hungry at the moment." She patted down her wrinkled cloak and took a deep breath, seemingly regaining her composure in a matter of seconds. "Rose, darling," she smoothed my hair down as well, "How are you doing?

"I'm fine mum." I nearly bit my tongue in my attempt to sound as nice as possible and not to revert back to the sarcastic, rude tone that I had acquired during my teenage years when asked this particular question.

"Good, good." She stood awkwardly, glancing around, no doubt noticing the dirty dishes in the sink and the laundry piled in the living area. "And your clothes are clean?"

Yep, knew it.

"Clean as can be, promise."

"I mean, if you want me to, I can put them away…"

"MUM. They're fine."

I may have gotten my nervous cleaning habit from my mother, but there are times when I really don't appreciate that fact as coming from her, it can be irritating.

"I know you're busy, sweetheart, so I just thought maybe…"

"Mum. It's fine seriously."

During this time, Cooper had stealthily returned to preparing our meal, a wise move on his part seeing as we could begin fighting at any point in time. Mum and I had a bit of an explosive relationship.

"Okay," mum still looked uncertain but I gave up trying to reassure her and took a sip of wine instead. "I'm just going to use your bathroom then." She smiled at me and I saw the fragility of her emotional state at that moment, her pale face was strained, her eyes were red as if slightly irritated from crying and her smile looked forced.

"Okay, mum." I went up and hugged her tightly. "Love you." I whispered in her ear and heard the rush breath as a sigh in my ear.

"Love you too, Rosie." Her voice broke at my name and I squeezed her tighter.

When she left the room, I swigged the rest of my wine and watched Cooper look at me incredulously out of my peripheral vision.

"I know. Shut up. She's my mother."

People were constantly shocked at the manner in which I approached Hermione Weasley, but after all, they didn't grow up and call her mum, so I don't think they have any particular say in how I should handle her.

"I didn't say anything," came the rebuttal.

"I heard you thinking it."

Cooper just raised an eyebrow at me, in a way that was strikingly similar to the way Scorpius would react and I rolled my eyes.

"You're coming to Nana's on Sunday, right?"

I sighed at the prospect my mum brought up, but knew that I would be in huge trouble if I didn't attend family brunch.

"Of course. Is Freddie finally bringing his one true love?"

We had all yet to meet Fred's new love interest. The ever-elusive Laurel seemed to be almost avoiding meeting the family. Well, either that or Freddie was avoiding introducing her to the family. Either way, I'm not sure that I blame them. All I did know about Laurel was that she was a pub owner in Diagon Alley, but Fred never did tell me which pub.

"Well, I'm not certain," my mum furrowed her brow in thought, "I doubt it, though, your cousin usually does have some excuse to give to Auntie Angelina."

I nodded in agreement and then reached in for another hug from my mum. Her warm, petite, figure and her familiar smell engulfed me, and I felt my self relax immediately, even though just minutes ago we had been sniping at each other over the state of the laundry in my living area.

"Thanks for coming over, mum. Are you sure you don't want dinner?"

"Well…" she hesitated only a second, and looked at Cooper's wonderful creation longingly, "I can't. I promised your father that we'd get takeaway from a place of his choice tonight."

"Invite Dad over too!" Suddenly the idea of having an almost family meal sounded extremely appealing. "Coop and I always make extras anyway."

I ignored the snort that came from my bodyguard's direction as he no doubted objected to the 'Coop and I' portion of my previous statement.

So that was how Cooper got to have an almost-family meal with the Hermione and Ron Weasley family.

It wasn't until much later, after my parents had left with full stomachs and some of the leftovers, when I went down to get the mail with Cooper that we learned the news.

Viv had just been clearing out when we came in to the lobby, heading straight towards the letterboxes.

"Oh, Rose. I have an interesting tidbit of information for you."

"Oh yeah?"

"You know the flat across the hall to you and to the left, next door to Mrs. Wimberly?"

I immediately pictured the flat in question, noting that it had been vacant for quite some time now as Mr. Brown evaluated potential tenants.

"Sure."

"Well it's finally been rented."

Cooper stiffened beside me and I could feel the tension radiating from his body, but I decided to ignore it. There was probably a whole new set of protocols that had to be followed to check up on this new tenant, and I had no interest in learning any of them at the moment.

"Rented to whom?"

Viv ran a hand through her short, dark hair before responding.

"Can't tell. Privacy contract."

"Seriously?" I gaped in response, probably unattractively. I'd heard of privacy contracts before, but usually those did not apply to other tenants in the building.

"Well," Viv looked around uncertainly before confiding in me, leaning over her desk, "it only applies to you. The ah…tenant…preferred to introduce themself to you personally so it's only temporary."

"And who is so special that they have to introduce themselves to me and needed a privacy contract in order to do so?"

"That would be me." Said a familiar voice from behind as I spun around to face my new neighbour.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, confession time: I've actually had this chapter written and mostly finished for a little over a week now. I know, I know, it's inexcusable because I've waited so long to update (another two months, I'm terribly sorry-I have usual excuses: life, etc. etc.) But anyway, I'd just like to say that I love this story and I hope you do, too. Sorry for the delay, but my brother was on a very long trip and when he got back today, I realised that apparently I needed to wait until he got home to finish/update this chapter. Very odd, I've never had this happen to me before. But now that I'm happy he's back, the words flowed a lot more easily. Go figure. **

**As always, let me know what you think!**

**~wwccd**


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